


Going for Gold

by My_Trex_has_fleas



Category: Poldark - All Media Types, Return to Treasure Island (TV 1996)
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Horses, M/M, Olympics, Riders, Swimming Pools, divers, hooking up at the Olympics, lots of riding, terrible sporting puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-08-08 08:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 70,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Trex_has_fleas/pseuds/My_Trex_has_fleas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title because I couldn't not...</p><p>Ross is a three day event rider. Jim is a 10m platform diver. They are both at the Olympics. What could possibly go wrong?</p><p>ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For everyone in the canoe 'cause y'all are the best :DDDD

It all started with an article in Vogue.

‘You have to.’ Verity was now actually pleading. ‘Please Ross, you have to!’

‘It’s stupid.’ he replied, folding the newspaper he was reading and glaring at her over the top. ‘Besides why do they need all three of us?”

‘Because it wouldn’t be the Poldark equestrian dynasty without you.’ Francis said, grinning at Verity. ‘We’re an amazing success story and we all happen to be rich, young and devastatingly attractive. And it’s not just us, they’re doing a whole piece on young Olympians.’

‘I have worked very hard to get where I am.’ Ross replied. ‘I don’t want the world to look at me and think that I am only going to the Olympics because of those particular things.’

‘All right, add extraordinarily talented to the list then.’ Francis said. ‘Whatever gets you to say yes.’ Ross heaved a sigh and looked back at Verity. She had both hands clasped in front of her, her huge brown eyes pleading.

‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’ he said. ‘I’ll bloody do it.’

**********

In the end it turned out to be not half as bad as he thought it would be. Demelza and Elizabeth had also been hauled in, seeing as they too were card carrying members of the Team GB equestrian squad and also falling into Francis’ aforementioned categories.

The photographer and journalist came out to Nampara with a fleet of people and they spent the day doing the shoot and the interviews. Nampara was beautiful in spring and made for a fabulous backdrop to the pictures. Even the horses were brought in and Ross spent as much time on Bathsheba as he spent moodily staring into the distance as instructed by the photographer, a short dapper man with a predilection for bow ties and a shameless line in flirting.

Ross was openly gay, as were more than a few equestrians who he competed both with and against, and it never occurred to him to ever worry about this angle being talked about in the article. That was until the journalist, a leggy creature whose ensemble screamed Sloane Ranger, bought up the fact that he would be extremely envious of her assignment the following day.

‘And why is that?’ he drawled, crossing one long leg over the other.

‘Because I am going to interview the divers tomorrow.’ she said, smiling impishly at him. ‘And there’s one in particular who’s absolutely gorgeous and of the same inclination as yourself.’

‘Really?’ Ross was only trying to be polite.

‘Oh yes.’ The journalist was giving him a knowing look. ‘Who knows, maybe you’ll bump into each other in Rio.’

**********

Ross didn’t give any more thought to it until Verity came screaming into his room, waving the edition of Vogue with their article in it.

‘We all look fucking amazing.’ she trilled. ‘You should see the incredible picture they got of Dem in the chapel, and the two of you hanging out at the gates.’ She thrust the magazine into his hands and bounded off. ‘I’m going to buy a thousand copies and send them to everyone that ever called me ugly at school.’

Ross laughed and then, overcome with curiosity, opened the magazine and turned to the article. Verity was right, they all looked very good. His little interview section was also much better than he’d anticipated as well, focusing on his talent and hard work and the remarkable recovery he’d made from a bad fall two years previously that had left him with a serious concussion and a scar that now ran from his eyebrow to his mouth. The journalist had described him as dark and brooding and extremely professional. Ross decided he quite liked that.

It was only once he’d read all the profiles from his own team that the journalist’s words came back to him and he flicked through the rest of the pages out of curiosity more than serious interest. He was far too busy to engage in anything that might even vaguely be described as a relationship. The only reason Elizabeth and Francis had been able to manage any sort of courtship and engagement was because they were both on the show jumping circuit.

He got to the section about the teams that did watersports (and the fifteen year old inside him snickered at that) and started looking. There was a big spread of all of them, standing looking effortlessly cool in front of the multi-coloured doors of Tooting Bec Lido. Almost to an athlete, they were cheerful, brilliant smiles everywhere. They were all barefoot and in jeans and white shirts of varying styles.

Ross had to admit they were on the whole a very attractive lot. He wondered which one the journalist had referred to and did a quick scan of the interviews. There were four divers, and he quickly found the one he was looking for when there was a mention of being a gay pin-up. He looked at the name at the top of the paragraph.

_James Hawkins, 23. Diver._

He snorted. He himself had been described in a similar way and he also noted that James Hawkins, whoever he was, was a year younger than himself. He turned back to the spread and ran through the list of names at the bottom. When he got to the corresponding one he looked at the picture.

And then he looked back at the name and then back at the picture.

The journalist hadn’t been lying when she’d said the diver in question was gorgeous. Ross took in the broad shoulders, beautifully outlined by a loose white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up on tanned muscular forearms. James Hawkins was like every stereotypical beach beauty he’d seen in the surfing films he’d loved watching when he was still a teenager, all tanned skin and bright blue eyes and blond hair clearly bleached by the sun. He was also in possession of a killer pair of dimples and remarkably cute feet from what Ross could see.

Maybe bumping into him in Rio wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

*********

In a flat in Clapham on the other side of the country, Jim sat and stared at the picture in the magazine on his lap.

‘I know that look.’ Silver, his best friend and synchronised diving partner, was sitting watching him with a gleam in his dark blue eyes. ‘You’ve just spotted someone fanciable.’

‘Maybe.’ Jim kept looking at the picture. He’d never really had any interest in horses at all, but maybe now was a good time to start. He held it up so Silver could see. ‘Look at him. He’s absolutely fucking beautiful. And I looked him up. Turns out he’s gay.’

‘You know Trelawney will kill both of us of you spend the whole time in Rio trying to get laid and not paying attention to your form.’ Silver said. Jim ignored him and went back to looking at the picture of the dark-haired man sitting on a tall black mare with a broad splash of white across her face. Then he went back and read the article about _Ross Poldark, 24. Three day event rider_.

Who knew that riding boots could be such a turn on?


	2. Receptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so WOW!!! What a reception XDDDD Thank you for all the wonderful comments! I love you all <3

A week before they left there was a grand reception in London. All the athletes going to Rio were invited and it was set to be a lavish affair at Somerset House. Verity was beside herself with excitement and Ross sat on her hotel bed, cross-legged, and smiled as she enlisted his help in deciding what to wear.

‘You’re so lucky.’ she said. ‘All you have to do is wear a suit and you’re good to go.’

‘And all you have to do is throw on a dress, or trousers or something.’ Francis grumbled from his seat in the corner. He’d retreated from his fiancee’s room in disgrace after he’d told Elizabeth that her cobalt blue dress made her look like a Smurf.

‘But it’s getting the right dress.’ Verity held up two, one a deep ivy green and the other a bright scarlet. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think if you’re trying to get laid go with the red.’ Ross said, grinning at her. Verity arched an eyebrow and swept the dress in front of her.

‘Red it is then.’ she said and cackled.

‘Christ.’ Francis sighed and let his head fall back. ‘It’s bad enough I am going to be out of it. Do you two have to rub it in my face?’

‘Shut up, Francis.’ Verity had taken her bathrobe off and was now shimmying into her dress. She walked over to Ross and turned so he could zip it up for her. ‘And I heard they’re distributing almost half a million condoms this year.’

‘Bloody hell.’ Francis said. ‘That’s an awful lot.’

‘Have you seen what the village is like?’ Ross said. ‘It’s basically a huge apartment complex with all of us shut in together. It’s going to be mayhem.’ He hooked the fastening at the top of Verity’s dress. ‘All done.’

‘Thank you.’ Verity sat down and started putting on her matching pair of strappy sandals. ‘I hope I find someone fit to pair off with.’ She gave Ross a grin. ‘Maybe you can even stop being a supreme grump and get your end away.’

‘My end is just fine.’ Ross replied. ‘I have to focus on the competition.’

‘Of course.’ Verity said. ‘But your event is done in the first four days and then you’ve still got almost two weeks to kill. Think of how much fun you can have.’

‘Christ yes.’ Francis said. ‘All those sweaty men.’ He snickered. Ross glared at him and then got up.

‘I’m going to get changed.’ he said. ‘I’ll meet you downstairs.’

In his room he considered Verity’s words. Apart from a few brief liaisons, there hadn’t been anyone in his life in the past year and a half, unless you counted Bathsheba. He had always pretty efficient, his masturbation routine designed to release his physical tension in the quickest way possible. His thoughts flicked back to a sunshine bright smile and deep dimples and what Verity would say if she knew that for the last month he’d been jerking off to the image of bright blue eyes, a body to die for and a killer smile, all fuelled by the most shameful internet stalking binge Ross had ever indulged in. It did help that Jim was something of a celebrity in LGBTQA sporting circles, a forthright and outspoken advocate for gay rights in sports and very happy to chat openly about himself and his sexuality. This meant that there had been quite a few photo shoots, the most memorable of which was an amazing one of him for Men’s Health in which he was featured in a series of shots of him standing shirtless in a swimming pool, drenched and drop-dead gorgeous. Ross’ hand had gotten quite the workout after he’d discovered that one.

He got dressed, a simple black blazer over a black shirt. The invite said smart casual but he decided to defy convention and threw on a pair of his favourite jeans instead, butter soft and dove grey. He put his shoes on and ran one hand through his hair, the curls artfully tousled. He was unusual in that he kept his hair on the long side, and Verity teased him endlessly about how she wasn’t the only one who would need to wear hairnets. Ross could care less. He was secretly rather vain about his hair. He gave himself a once over in the mirror in the bathroom and sprayed himself liberally with Bleu and he was good to go.

They were all waiting for him downstairs. Demelza looked stunning as usual in a very daring backless number in midnight blue. She had her mane of copper curls loose and she came over and took his arm. Before Ross had come out publically, their fans had been convinced they were having a raging affair. What they didn’t know was that Demelza was very much not into relationships at that point in her life, preferring the company of her vibrator.

‘You look yummy.’ she said. ‘Is there something I should know?’

‘No.’ he replied, but she grinned at him. She’d been his best friend for five years when they had first started riding together for the same trainer.

‘I don’t know.’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Maybe a certain person. Someone who may well be there tonight?’’ Her eyes were sparkling with mischief and Ross looked away, knowing that he’d been caught out.

‘For the love of God, do not tell them.’ he hissed. Demelza was the only one he’d told about the journalist and her suggestion.

‘My lips are sealed.’ she said.

They took a cab to the venue, and Ross was astounded by how many people were there. It was not just athletes, but organisers and fundraisers and media people. He hated crowds and the whole media circus, but it was a necessary evil so he put on his smile and proceeded to be pleasant and charming to everyone. Demelza of course was in her element, her naturally friendly smile and disposition making her somewhat of a media darling. Ross left her talking to a couple of woman from Tatler and tried to make himself inconspicuous.

The night dragged on and he spent the latter part of it avoiding talking to people. Francis and Elizabeth were doing their reigning royal couple of equestrian sports thing and Demelza had long since been shanghaied to talk to a group of influential sponsors, being by far the best at that sort of thing. Ross took the opportunity to grab himself another glass of pinot from the bar and head out to the terrace at the top of the stairs.

He got outside and breathed in the night air. It was that special kind of muggy only London could manage. For a moment Ross felt a great desire to simply ditch his companions and head out into the city. The terrace was at the top of the building and he could look out over the South Bank and see all the lights. He longed for a cigarette, having given up his secret vice for the duration of the run up to the competition and of course the actual competition himself. Verity had suggested vaping but he hated that intensely. Then his ears picked up a sound that he was very familiar with. He turned around in time to catch the flare of the Zippo as it lit the cigarette and then it was closed with a satisfying click. The smoker was in the shadows and Ross wondered who it could be. He heard them inhale, saw the flash of the ember and breathed the aromatic smoke in. The smoker gave a low chuckle.

‘I can spot a fellow smoker from a mile away.’ he said. ‘When did you give up?’

‘Three months ago.’ Ross replied. ‘At least until this is all done.’

‘Christ I know.’ the man said. ‘My coach would skin me alive if she saw me right now. But that fucking travesty inside is giving me the worst case of 'fuck you' ever.’ There was movement in the shadows and then a hand was extended. In it was a pack of Camels and the Zippo.

‘I shouldn’t.’ Ross could feel himself weakening.

‘Will it help if I promise not to tell?’ The man was barely containing a laugh judging by the sounds of things. ‘And I will let you blame it all on me if we get caught. We can say that I coerced you.’

Ross found himself smiling and walked the few steps to take the cigarettes. He took one out and lit it, then handed them back.

‘Thank you.’ he said.

‘No problem.’ There was another flare from the shadows. ‘You’re Ross Poldark, aren’t you?’

‘Yeah.’ Ross inhaled deeply and held the smoke in before blowing it out in a deeply satisfying stream. He tried to get a better look at the smoker. ‘And you?’

‘Oh, sorry.’ The man stepped into the light from the windows behind them and Ross had to stop himself from choking on the cigarette he’d just been given as he clocked the blond hair and blue eyes, all dressed up in tan trousers and a navy blue cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up just like they had been in the photo. ‘I’m Jim Hawkins.’

********

Jim couldn’t believe his luck. He’d spent the whole night trying to avoid the advances of an amorous media girl who was convinced that if he only fucked her he’d turn his back on the ‘whole gay thing’ as she put it. He’d been horribly disappointed at how many people were in attendance which meant that he had about as much chance of tracking down Mr Tall, Dark and Fuckable as finding a needle in a haystack. And now, just as he’d thrown in the towel and come out on the terrace to sulk and have a sneaky cigarette, lo and behold who should walk out after him but the very man himself that he’d been so keen to meet. He would be lying if he said that he hadn’t come to the party with the sole purpose of finding Mr Poldark and having a really good look at him. Jim was a sucker for tall dark men and Ross was ticking each and every box he had. He was notoriously private, and the number of actual interviews with him could be counted on one hand and most of the images available on the internet were of him at competitions. Not that that was a bad thing. Jim had quickly discovered that he really did have a horrible kink for riding boots and everything else that went along with it.

In all honesty the photo from Vogue didn’t do Ross justice in the slightest. It certainly didn’t show exactly how broad his shoulders or how long his legs actually were. It definitely didn’t reveal the fact that his hair was almost black and had gorgeous coppery highlights and the most attractive curl. And that face, so severely beautiful it quite took Jim’s breath away. He could see from how the lights on the terrace were hitting Ross’ eyes that they weren’t as dark as he’d thought they were, in fact they were lighter and warmer. It was all enough to get his heart thumping unreasonably fast.

Ross looked at him, a small frown on his face creating a line between those hazel eyes. Jim could now also see the scar that ran down the left side, a legacy from a very bad fall at another event. It made Ross look just that little bit dangerous and his heart sped up even more.

‘You’re James Hawkins.’ he said. He sounded a little shocked. Jim smiled.

‘The one and only.’ he replied. ‘But not James. Jim.’ He watched as Ross seemed to process this information slowly.

‘You’re much shorter than I imagined.’ he said and that information made Jim’s stomach lurch very pleasantly.

‘You imagined me?’ he asked and Ross started to go pink in the cheeks.

‘That’s not quite what I meant.’ He seemed to be stumbling over his words. ‘It’s just difficult to tell how tall someone is from photographs.’

‘I know what you mean.’ Jim was now almost bouncing at the idea that Ross actually knew who he was. ‘You’re much taller in person.’ That made Ross’ beautiful eyes widen and Jim could tell that he was obviously taken aback. Then he smiled and Jim was utterly dazzled. It wasn’t a perfect smile, Ross’ two front teeth being slightly turned in, but it was possibly the most attractive smile Jim had ever seen.

‘Looks like I’m not the only one whose been doing some research.’ Ross said, and Jim laughed.

‘You could say that.’ he replied. ‘Although I have to say that finding anything out about you is very very difficult. You’re quite elusive.’

‘And why exactly were you trying to find out about me?’ Ross asked, taking a step closer. Jim caught a waft of aftershave, woody and with a pepperiness that was very appealing.

‘Probably for the same reason you know who I am.’ he replied, smiling brightly. ‘That damn Vogue article.’

‘Shit.’ Ross was smiling broadly now. ‘You know the journo told me you are gorgeous and that I would be horribly jealous about her spending the whole day with you.’ He laughed. ‘Turns out she was right.’

Jim took on a deep breath to control his surge of excitement. This was turning out to be very promising indeed. He was just about to suggest they go get another drink and find a quiet corner to keep talking when Silver burst out onto the terrace.

‘There you are.’ he said, coming over and then staring at the almost burnt out cigarette in his hand. ‘Get rid of that. Emma’s looking for you and she’s not happy that you’ve disappeared. She’s cracking the curfew whip and we’re all being rounded up to g back to the hotel.’

‘Ross.’ Jim said. ‘This is John Silver. He’s my diving partner and possessed of the worst timing in the known universe.’ He turned and glared at Silver who was now starting to put two and two together. ‘John, this is _Ross Poldark_.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ Silver was now smiling that sharp smile of his. ‘Look, any other time I would leave you to get on with it, but I really need to steal him. Our coach is a battleaxe about us getting the proper amount of sleep.’

‘Sure.’ Ross replied. ‘I know how it goes.’ He smiled at Jim and Jim was gratified to see the disappointment in his eyes. ‘I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to catch up in Rio.’

‘Fuck, I hope so.’ Jim said and then allowed Silver to drag him away.

*********

Ross watched, crushing disappointment filling him as he watched Jim and Silver leave the terrace. He’d been thrilled at how the conversation was going. He hadn’t flirted with anyone in so long and was convinced that he’d fuck things up from the word go but Jim was easy to talk to and he’d felt strangely at ease with him, even if it had only been for a short time.

He killed the cigarette under his heel and turned to look out over the lights again, then turned when he heard the sound of footsteps. To his complete surprise he saw Jim approaching him at speed until they were toe to toe. Ross had no time to even comprehend what was happening before Jim got him by the lapels of his blazer and stood up on his toes.

‘Just in case you need an incentive.’ he said and then he was kissing Ross on the mouth. Ross was momentarily astounded. Jim’s mouth was warm and soft and insistent and then the kiss was over as quickly as it had happened. He let Ross go and bounded off to where an exasperated looking Silver was waiting for him and disappeared down the stairs.

Ross stood there. He had no idea how long it was for, but eventually he managed to get himself moving. He went back inside and located Demelza, who was chatting up a leggy brunette rower. She took one look at him and started smiling.

‘What happened?’ she asked. ‘Did you find him?’

‘You could say that.’ Ross replied.


	3. Mile High Interruptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to head for Rio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little information on events. Ross is a three day event rider so he does a dressage competition, a cross country competition and a show jumping competition. Demelza is a dressage rider and Verity, Francis and Elizabeth are all show jumpers.

The last week before they were due to depart was a whirlwind of activity. There was press and having to get the horses vet checked before they were flown over with their grooms, not to mention getting kitted out and a prodigious amount of packing. By then end of it, Ross was fed up to the back teeth with having to pose and smile in his riding gear and provide sound bites for various equestrian publications. He was also kicking himself for at not even getting Jim’s phone number before he’d run off until Verity and Demelza, both far more media savvy than himself, had pointed out that that was what social media was for and by the end of the hour they were proudly presenting Ross with a piece of paper with a scrawled series of digits on it.

The first message had been one he’d agonised over for an entire afternoon, tapping it out and then deleting it repeatedly. Finally he’d settled on something so innocuous that it couldn’t possibly be misconstrued.

_16:04 Hi. Hope you got enough sleep._

He’d sat in the kitchen, heart in his mouth, as he waited for a reply. When it came, he nearly fell off the chair in excitement.

_16:05 Hi yourself. What took you so long?_

Ross smiled fit to burst.

_16:06 I am afraid that Twitter is kind of beyond me and I didn’t have your number._

The next message came back almost immediately.

_16:07 Thank fuck for your cousin then. How’s your week been?_

_16:08 A complete nightmare. I hate all this. Glad when we can just get on the plane and go._

He waited for a reply, hands starting to shake with nerves when one didn’t come. Then his phone rang and he was so shocked he almost dropped it.

‘Hello?’ He wanted to kick himself for how unsure he sounded.

‘That’s better.’ Jim sounded resolutely cheerful. ‘I don’t really like texting.’

‘Me either.’ Ross replied, his smile back in place. ‘What are you up to?’

‘Getting kitted out.’ Jim replied. ‘We’re all just standing around in our speedos while they take pictures of us.’

‘God.’ Ross had to take a breath as images of a near naked Jim invaded his consciousness. ‘That must be a sight.’

‘Well, it will be on the GB website tomorrow so you can have a good look.’ Jim replied, the flirtatiousness of his reply more than a little obvious. ‘Decide if you like what you see.’

‘Oh, I think I am way past that stage.’ Ross said and then flared red as he realised how blatant that sounded. There was an unbearably sexy low laugh on the other side.

‘That makes me very happy to hear.’ Jim replied. ‘When are you flying?’

‘Tomorrow.’ Ross said, his heart starting to beat unreasonably hard. ‘At seven.’

‘You have your flight number?’ Jim asked. Ross could hear him shushing someone in the background. He came out of the phone screen and flicked through to the email with all the travel details.

‘It’s BA 741.’ he replied and Jim laughed.

‘Looks like we’re on the same flight.’ he said. ‘What are the odds?’

Ross felt his pulse stutter. The thought of spending an entire flight on the same plane as Jim was more than he’d bargained for.

‘We’re probably in different sections though.’ he said, desperately trying not to get his hopes up. Jim laughed again.

‘That’s what airplane bathrooms are for Ross.’ he said. ‘I have to go. Emma’s going to drown me if I don’t get off the phone. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He hung up before Ross could reply and he sat back in his chair, stunned by the implications of the words airplane bathrooms.

His phone buzzed again and he looked down to see he had another message. When he opened it, he early had a heart attack. It was of Jim, taken at an angle so Ross could get a very clear view of a body that could only be described as impossible. He wondered vaguely if Jim self-tanned before he got distracted by how low the official Team GB speedos rested on his hips and the clearly defined obliques that ran down to it.

‘Holy shit!’ Verity’s voice in his ear nearly gave him heart attack Mk II. ‘Look at that fucking body.’ She giggled. ‘You have to fuck him.’

‘Vee!’ Ross closed the message as quickly as he could, feeling his face burn. ‘Fucking hell!’

‘What?’ she asked, her face a picture of mock innocence. ‘That last person you fucked was that Omani polo player and that was well over a year ago.’

‘I know.’ Ross said defensively folding his arms. ‘But that doesn’t mean I am going to just jump into bed with the first person I come across that shows any interest.’

‘Oh please.’ Verity snorted, going to the fridge and taking out a bottle of cranberry juice. She poured herself a glass and waved the bottle at him. ‘Your problem is that you have forgotten that you’re supposed to be twenty-four and not eighty-four.’

‘Whatever is going on, I second it.’ Francis said, coming in the kitchen. He came over and draped an arm around his twin. ‘What is going on?’

‘Ross’ hot diver is sending him barely legal pics of his abs.’ Verity said. ‘I said he needs to fuck him.’

‘Not a bad idea.’ Francis said. ‘It’s been so long I’m amazed your cock hasn’t rusted off.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ Ross muttered, stomping out the kitchen to peals of laughter behind him.

**********

They headed to London at five in the morning, all their bags and gear packed in the minibus that was taking them and a few other Cornwall based athletes to Heathrow to catch their flight. The equestrian team was quiet sizeable with five eventers, four dressage riders and another five showjumpers. All the horses had been flown over to acclimatise and they would be arriving a week in advance as well to settle in and get in some practice. The equestrian events were being held at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro but the course would only be revealed in the week of the competitions. Ross knew that the British team would all be staying in the same block which they had sole occupancy of due to the sheer number of athletes. He was sharing with Francis and two other riders in a two room unit, while Demelza, Verity and Elizabeth were staying in a three room unit with three others. Each bedroom was simply furnished with two single beds and an en-suite bathroom, but he’d seen pictures of the apartments and they were more than adequate from what he could tell. It would be their home for the next month and a half and he had packed a few things to take with him to make it feel more like his own space, just as he knew the others had.

The ride to London had a carnival atmosphere, music playing and everyone singing along. Ross sat in the back, exchanging furtive texts with Jim. He had been getting a blow by blow account of the diving team’s progress to the airport and shots of them all sprawled over a bank of chairs. Jim had pointed out who was who, and Ross could now identify the three men he was sharing an apartment with. The young black man was another James - Turner this time - although for some reason they all called him Captain Flint. He already knew Silver with his bright auburn hair and freckles and finally there was Ben Gunn, dark haired and dark eyed and smiley. They were all as ridiculously happy looking as Jim was, dressed in an assortment of jeans and trackie bottoms with lurid coloured t-shirts seeming to be the look du jour. Jim’s was a hot pink thing with a surf logo on the front that actually made him look stupidly cute. He texted Ross that he’d worn it especially so Ross could find him.

They got to the airport and were driven through to the closed section that had been sectioned off for all the Olympic athletes and staff that were going to Rio. Ross offloaded himself and his luggage and then helped Demelza with hers. They dumped everything on two trolleys and went inside. He pushed the trolley in front of him, Demelza bouncing ahead with her phone out and already taking photographs of everything. He stopped momentarily to take out his phone and tell Jim that he was there and got a message back in quick succession.

_15:33 WHERE ARE YOU?_

Ross grinned and took a picture of the check in desks and sent it to him.

_15:35 DON’T MOVE. I AM COMING TO GET YOU._

He laughed and Demelza came to see what he was laughing at.

‘Oh God.’ she said, smiling. ‘And it begins.’

They handed over their trolley to one of the designated Olympics staff who wheeled it off to go and be checked in and stood waiting. Francis, Verity and Elizabeth came over to join them.

‘So why are we standing here?’ Francis asked.

‘We’re waiting for Ross’ diver.’ Demelza said and they all smiled at him.

‘Will you all please stop calling him that?’ Ross hissed as he spotted a flash of bright pink and his stomach lurched crazly. He stared as Jim sauntered across, hands in the pockets of his jeans and a brilliant smile on his face. Ross wanted to fall through the floor at how his fellow equestrians were all goggling at him, but Jim didn’t seem to notice.

‘Hi.’ he said brightly when he got to him and Ross noticed that under the hideous fluorescent lights Jim’s eyes were aquamarine. It made him go slightly weak in the knees.

‘Hi.’ he said back, then looked around. ‘This is crazy.’

‘This or _this_?’ Jim asked, his bright eyes sharp.

‘All of it.’ Ross replied and Jim laughed, dimples flickering.

‘So this must be the rest of the family.’ he said, looking past Ross to the still gaping onlookers.

‘Yeah.’ Ross replied, turning to them. ‘This is Verity, Francis, Demelza and Elizabeth.’ They all waved at Jim and he smiled.

‘My lot are all back there.’ he said. ‘You’re welcome to come join us.’ Ross was just about to reply when Jim’s name was shouted from across the hall and Jim got a very guilty look on his face. A tall stern looking woman with a bright blond bob was stalking towards them at speed.

‘Why do you test me?’ she said as she got to them, her accent screaming Australian. ‘At this rate I am going to have to put an ankle tag on you.’ She looked at Ross and then seemed to come to a realisation. ‘Oh, now I see.’

‘It’s not what it looks like.’ Jim was giving her a winning smile. ‘I was just coming to show Ross and the others where to go.’

‘Like hell you were.’ The woman said. ‘Now get back there and stop fucking around.’ She gave Ross a sharp look. ‘No distractions needed here.’

‘He’s not a distraction, Emma.’ Jim looked like he was about to burst out laughing. ‘He’s my future boyfriend.’ This was said with a wink at Ross that made him go scarlet.

‘Not at the Olympics he’s not.’ Emma retorted. ‘Now bugger off and get back to where you’re supposed to be.’ She turned on Ross with the look of an unimpressed schoolmarm. ‘And you keep it in your pants Mr Event Rider.’

Jim went off with her giving him a tongue lashing of note. He threw Ross a completely unrepentant smile over his shoulder and Ross watched him go with his mouth open.

‘Oh, I like him.’ Verity said. ‘He’s very forthright.’

‘And very fucking cute.’ Demelza said. Ross put his face in his hands.

‘This is going to be nothing but trouble.’ he said. ‘I can fucking tell.’

**********

They finally boarded the 747 that was being used to ferry the athletes. There had been quite a lot of grumbling about the fact that the majority of athletes were being made to fly economy class, but Ross lucked out and ended up next to the emergency door with Francis. He watched as the divers came past them, Jim giving him a knowing smile. They were right at the back and Ross stood up and leaned on the back of his seat, chin in hand as he watched them shoving their hand luggage into the overhead lockers, all presided over by Emma.

The take-off was uneventful and they headed off. Francis was quick to pass out after they had been served dinner, a skill that Ross envied, and he was soon snoozing. The cabin lights were eventually dimmed and the sounds of people dropping off and sleeping started to fill the cabin. Ross snuck another look over the seats and noticed that Jim’s head was down.

He got up on the pretence of going to the bathroom and started making his way towards the rear of the plane. As he got closer he saw the Jim had a Kindle on the tray in front of him and was clearly reading something with rapt attention and with his earbuds in it was obvious he was completely lost in his own world. Ross leaned on the seat, feeling a little more comfortable because he could clearly see Emma was fast asleep in the next row along. Silver, who was sitting next to Jim and looking out the window, noticed him and then elbowed Jim in the side. Jim jumped and looked at him accusingly and Silver nodded in Ross’ direction. Jim looked up, smile on his face as he took out his earbuds. There was the sound of something that sounded suspiciously like Bach which surprised Ross.

‘Hi.’ he said. ‘Again. Sorry about earlier, but as you can see the jailer is asleep.’

‘She’s fierce.’ Ross replied and Silver snorted.

‘She’s the worst.’ he said. ‘We can’t do anything. You’d think we were a bunch of blushing virgins that need to be protected at all times from the way she treats us.’

‘No drinking, no smoking, no fucking.’ Flint had stood up with Gunn and they were leaning on the backs of their seats and giving Ross a matching pair of quizzical looks. ‘And she has eyes in the back of her head.’

Ross felt a little overwhelmed by suddenly being the centre of attention but Jim simply handed Silver his Kindle, undid his seatbelt (another surprise) and got up. He grabbed Ross by the hand and dragged him to the bathroom at the back. Ross was trying to protest, but Jim was remarkably strong and before he knew it he’d been bundled inside with Jim behind him and the door had been locked. It was cramped in the extreme and Ross found himself wedged in between the toilet and basin, looming over Jim who was now grinning up at him.

‘This is a terrible idea.’ he said. ‘Why are we doing this exactly?’

‘So I can talk to you without that lot listening in.’ Jim replied. ‘So I’ve been checking the schedules. Your events are starting on the 6th right?’

‘Yeah.’ Ross said. ‘I have my dressage round on the 6th. Then I’ve got cross country on the 8th and jumping on the 9th.’

‘Bugger.’ Jim said. ‘My synchro diving event is on the 8th. But once that’s done I’m free until the following week. More or less. But I think I can probably sneak away.’

‘Don’t you think this is moving kind of fast?’ Ross said, right back to sweaty palms and beating heart territory.

‘I don’t really have an off switch.’ Jim was smiling broadly. ‘Sorry. If I’m making you uncomfortable we can go slower.’

Ross looked down at him. Up close he could see Jim’s freckles and smell his citrusy aftershave and something inside him snapped. He threw caution to the wind and backed Jim up against the door and kissed him. Jim seemed thrown for about a second and then his hands were on Ross’ neck and he was kissing him back. It was a far cry from the quick and quite chaste kiss at the gala. Ross had forgotten just how much he enjoyed doing this and the fact that he was kissing a man who looked like all his dirty thoughts come to life seemed to hit him between the eyes. He licked at Jim’s mouth and Jim licked back and it suddenly devolved into a very heated and messy affair with both of them slobbering all over each other. Jim turned out to be extremely talented at more than just diving and Ross moved to pin him still, hands on those trim hips as he invaded Jim’s mouth. Jim seemed to take to this quite happily, his own tongue tracing along Ross’ teeth until Ross got completely overwhelmed by it all and caught Jim’s lower lip between his teeth and sucked on it before moving to press kisses along the side of Jim’s neck. He could hear that Jim was starting to pant and then all of a sudden there was a hand on Ross’ cock and for the first time in his life he found himself contemplating having sex in an airplane bathroom.

Or he would have if someone hadn’t hammered at the door and yelled at them.

‘OUT!’ Emma bellowed and they broke apart like two guilty teenagers.

‘Goddammit.’ Jim muttered. ‘Foiled again.’ He laughed and looked back at Ross, pupils dilated and cheeks flushed. ‘If you fuck half as well as you kiss, this is going to be a very interesting trip.’ He turned and unlocked the door and it was yanked open by a furious looking diving coach.

‘You sit!’ she shouted at Jim, pointing in the direction of his seat. ‘And you get back to your side of the plane and stay there! You can wait to fuck in the Village like normal people!’ This was directed at Ross. Mollified, Jim went fairly meekly and sat down, but his eyes were sparkling when he looked at Ross walking past him. Ross returned his smile and kept going, getting a slow clap from everyone else at the back of the plane. Normally he would have been mortified but right then he was too busy floating on air to notice.

‘Damn you lot work fast.’ said one of the water polo players sitting behind him and Francis. Ross laughed and sat back down, then looked across to Elizabeth, Verity and Demelza who were all grinning maniacally and giving him the thumbs up. Next to him Francis snorted himself awake and then looked blearily at him.

‘What did I miss?’ he asked and Ross laughed.

‘Nothing.’ he replied, looking back down the aisle and saw that Jim was doing the same. He smiled at Ross and then disappeared from view. Ross sat back in his seat and tried to will his cock back down.

Jim was right. This was definitely turning out to be very interesting indeed.


	4. Her Name Is Rio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touchdown in Rio.

Ross hardly slept at all. He didn’t normally on long haul flights, and so he spent most of it watching the selection of films and going over his routine for the dressage. Francis had gone back to sleep, and in spite of all his intentions Jim had as well. Ross had gotten up to sneak another visit only to find Jim curled up against Silver, airline blanket tucked around him and face looking angelic in repose. Silver, who was watching the films like Ross had been doing, had looked up and grinned at him.

‘He looks like cocks wouldn’t melt in his mouth.’ he said to Ross with a smirk. ‘Believe me, it’s a complete front.’ The grin widened. ‘He likes you though. He hasn’t been talking about anything else besides this and you since the gala.’

‘I think I like him too.’ Ross said, then was amazed at his confession. ‘Is he always so forward though?’

‘Always.’ This came from across the aisle and Ross turned to see Emma smiling at him. ‘Jim is very determined when it comes to things he wants and he has no problem going after them.’ 

‘I’m sorry about earlier.’ Ross said to her. Emma waved a hand at him. 

‘It’s all right.’ she said. ‘I can imagine what it’s like being your age and being on the loose with that throwing itself at you.’ She nodded at the sleeping Jim. ‘Like I said, he goes after what he wants and it would seem that you are on the list. It’s just my job to remind him that a medal needs to be higher on that list.’ Then her smile turned mischievous. ‘I am sure that you two will be able to align your schedules at least once or twice.’ 

Ross found himself returning the smile. He went back to his seat and this time he actually managed to drop off.

*********

Rio was bright, the almost blinding light streaming through the plane windows. Jim sighed and dug his sunglasses out of the pocket of his back pack and put them on while they were still taxiing down the runway after landing, the green mirrored lenses nearly blinding Silver in the process.

‘Drama queen.’ He said to him and Jim stuck his middle finger up at him.

‘Right.’ Emma was up, in spite of the fact that the plane hadn’t quite come to a complete stop, glaring at the steward that was trying to get her to sit back down. ‘Bags and out. We’re heading straight to the Village and we can get settled in, unpack and then hit the pool this afternoon. I will be issuing training schedules when we get in.’ 

‘No rest for the wicked.’ Flint muttered and she pointed her finger at him. 

‘You just bought yourself a chocolate ban.’ she said and Flint made an exasperated noise while Gunn laughed at him. Jim was trying to catch a glimpse of Ross though the other people in front of them. He caught sight of a head of dark curls that seemed to have gone full labradoodle some time during the flight. 

‘You can talk to him later.’ Emma said as she passed him, having already got her hand luggage down. 

‘Not if you’ve scared him off.’ he replied and she gave him a stern look.

‘Any shenanigans out of you and it will be a competition long chocolate ban.’ she replied and Jim huffed. 

‘You’re a machine.’ he said. ‘You have no feelings at all.’

‘And I am extremely thankful for that.’ Emma replied. ‘Now move your arse.’ 

Ross and the other equestrians had all disembarked by the time they had gotten off the plane and they were not on the coach that the divers boarded either. Jim bit down his disappointment and slumped down in a seat at the back. He sulked all the way from the airport, but once they got into the city he got overwhelmed by excitement again and spent the rest of the trip staring out the window. 

The Olympic Village came into view, a series of tall white blocks. The coach came into the parking area and they got off. Emma took control, marching them along to the registration tent where they all got signed in and given their security passes for the block they were staying in and to give them access to all the facilities. The Village was designed to be a completely self-contained unit and it had everything they needed. Once they were registered they followed Emma to the GB block, easily identified by the Union flags that decorated the balconies. 

‘We’re on the twelfth floor.’ she said. They went up in the lift and when they got there, they found the other divers and swimmers they were sharing the floor with already ensconced. There was a lot of open doors and people rushing in and out, exclamations of excitement and chattering filling the spaces between rooms. Their apartment was on the corner and they went in to find a light and airy space. 

‘Sweet.’ Gunn went over and opened the balcony door and they all crowded onto it and looked down over the main area and pools. There was an astroturfed section with deck chairs right below them. 

‘Jim, you and John are in that room.’ Emma said, pointing to the one on the right of the corridor that led off the living area. ‘Ben, you and James are in the other. I don’t need to tell you that I expect you to all behave yourselves and not wreck the place.’ She had opened her own backpack and was now handing out sheets of paper. ‘Training schedules. We’ll get started at three. Go and unpack and then have some lunch and I’ll be back for you in a bit.’ They waved her off and then headed to their rooms. Their bags had already been delivered and were sitting at the foot of their beds. 

Jim unpacked his backpack, laying aside the things that he had bought to make the space more like home. He had a framed picture of him and his mother Rose and Bones the bull terrier sitting at Rose’s house in Lymington, a small stuffed shark that his grandparents had sent him and a few of his favourite books. He had a whole lot downloaded on his Kindle but these were well loved and he enjoyed nothing more than thumbing through them when he needed to calm his mind. The last thing he did was undo the St Christopher he was wearing around his neck and drape it over the light. He wasn’t religious but it had been a gift from his father before he died and Jim always wore it when he travelled. He rubbed his thumb over the circular disc and smiled at it then hung it up. Behind him, Silver was blutacking his photos of his family to the wall next to his bed, along with a couple of very saucy shots of his girlfriend Anne who was coming to Rio in time for the opening ceremony along with his family and Rose. They worked in comfortable silence, having known each other and been best friends for so long they never felt the need to fill the space with conversation if they didn’t want to. 

********

On the ninth floor, Ross was doing the same, having made a rather exhaustive search for Jim and concluding that they hadn’t arrived and feeling a little put out no-one seemed to know which floor the divers were on either. He and Francis had arrived to find their things in situ and had started unpacking, taking care to make sure their show coats were hung up and their boot carriers were assembled alongside each other. Sharing a home (Nampara was sprawling and it made sense for them to all live under the same roof with Joshua coaching them) and spending almost all their time together had made them a tight unit and they flowed in and out of each other’s space easily. 

Ross took the picture of his parents and stuck it on the small bedside unit. They would be flying out the following day, having had a few last minute things to do. Unlike the other coaches, Joshua would be staying with Grace at friends of theirs and coming in to the centre each day to meet them. Former Olympians themselves, they were well versed in how things ran. 

The horse’s gear and tack had all been flown with them, and so the only other things Ross had were his helmets and gloves. His eventing gear was different from the stuff he wore for the other part of the competition, the polo shirt white as opposed to the navy coats with their distinctive red collars. He hung everything up and watched as Francis did the same. Tidiness was a bit of a Poldark trait. 

A knock at the door came and Elizabeth stuck her head around it. 

‘We’re all done.’ she said. ‘Ready to go? Vee and Dem have already gone down.’ They were going out to the centre to go check on the horses and stake out the competition arena. Ross also wanted to get a look at the cross country course. 

‘In a second.’ he replied and she came in, sitting on his bed while he took his toiletry bag into the bathroom. Francis was putting on a hoodie and smearing sunblock across his nose. Elizabeth snorted a laugh at him. He was pale and freckled easily. 

‘You look ridiculous.’ she said, her voice full of affection as she came over and straightened his hoodie for him.

‘You’ll be the first one bitching if I have freckles in the wedding photos.’ Francis grumbled. 

Ross looked at them, smiling. Elizabeth and he had had a small fling back when he was still figuring himself out, but he was mightily pleased that she and his cousin had ended up together and that the Poldark name was not going to run out any time soon. If it had been up to him and Verity it certainly would. He checked that he had everything and put his security tag around his neck.

‘Let’s go.’ he said and followed them out.

********

‘Done.’ Silver finally declared and then took a step back to admire their handiwork, just as Flint stuck his head in the door. 

‘Come on.’ he said. ‘We’re bloody starving. We want to eat before we go train.’ 

They all went downstairs and Jim found himself wondering which floor Ross was on. Thankfully, providence was smiling on his as he caught sight of bright copper hair off to his left. He made his way over and Demelza caught sight of him and grinned.

‘He’s been looking for you.’ she said by way of greeting. ‘Between you and me, he’s getting a little frantic.’ 

‘We’re on the twelfth floor.’ Jim said.

‘Ninth.’ Demelza replied. ‘We’re heading over to the centre now to go check on the horses, but we’ll be back in a few hours.’

‘Shit.’ Jim said. ‘We’ll be at the pool by then.’ 

‘Well, what time do you get back?’ Demelza asked. ‘I’ll send him down to you.’

‘Don’t.’ Jim replied. ‘Emma will kill him and then me. Look, just tell him I will try and catch up with him as soon as I have a second to myself.’ 

‘Jim!’ Silver shouted from where they were standing watching the conversation. ‘While we’re still young, mate.’ 

‘I have to go.’ Jim said. 

‘I’ll tell him.’ Demelza replied. She watched him jog back to the other divers and then walk off in the direction of the main pathway. It was only a few minutes later that she turned and saw the others coming towards her. 

‘You’ll never guess who I just bumped into.’ she said to Ross and his face fell. 

‘He was here?’ He sounded bereft. ‘Bollocks.’

‘He said they’re heading to the pool, so we’ll probably miss them later.’ she said, stifling a giggle at how morose he looked. ‘On the plus side, I do know which floor they are on.’

‘Yippee.’ Verity said coming to take Ross’ arm. ‘I suggest we crash the party later.’

‘What party?’ Francis asked and she rolled her eyes at him. 

‘Are you seriously suggesting there’s not going to be one?’ she asked. ‘It’s traditional.’

‘I’m probably not going to be allowed within twenty feet of him anyway.’ Ross grumbled. ‘His coach is scary.’

‘Poor baby.’ Verity didn’t sound at all sympathetic. ‘You’ll just have to sneak in.’

They took the shuttle to the equestrian centre after stopping off at one of the catering kiosks to get sandwiches and drinks for the coach. They were all used to eating on the run and in barns and yards and stables. It took about twenty minutes to get to the sprawling Olympics complex and then find their way to the line of stables that their horses were currently housed in. As they approached they spotted Dwight Enys, the team vet, coming towards them with a broad smile on his face. The vets and grooms had all flown out with the horses and were staying on the grounds. 

‘Hi.’ He said, coming to greet them all. He’d been their vet for a good five years already as was simply an extended part of the family. ‘The kids are all here and settled in.’  
‘How are they?’ Elizabeth asked and he grinned. 

‘Absolute lambs with one exception.’ He said, giving Ross a look and Ross sighed. Bathsheba was a diva in every sense of the word and enjoyed eating grooms for breakfast. Prudie had been the only one who’d ever been able to handle her bad temper and come out smiling. Not even her husband, who had been in the Poldark’s employ far longer and had seen Bathsheba grow from a filly, was stupid enough to get within biting distance. ‘I’m not sure, but I think I know the Portuguese for ‘absolute bitch’.

‘Stops people from taking liberties.’ Ross retorted. ‘Where is she?’

‘Two rows down with the other three.’ Dwight said. ‘This way.’ He led them through the lines of buildings and eventually Ross saw the familiar black face with its irregular white blaze looking out of her open half door, ears pricked. Bathsheba was as nosy as it was possible for a horse to be. She spotted him and nickered loudly and Ross jogged over to her, smiling as she lowered her head to sniff his hands and nudge his pockets. He rubbed between her eyes and took out the roll of Polo Mints that he always carried for her, breaking it open and handing her two on his open palm. Bathsheba hoovered them up while he unlocked her door and went into the stall, moving to let him run his hands down her legs to check for swelling and then give her a general once over. She was tall at seventeen hands, her Thoroughbred/Oldenburg blood making her statuesque, deep through the chest and with powerful hindquarters that gave her speed and explosive power. Ross hummed to her, stroking her neck and scratching her under the jaw where she liked it best. 

‘You all right, beautiful?’ he asked and she snorted into the front of his shirt, leaving a mark. ‘Fucking hell, Bath.’ He shoved her away but the damage was done. He heard a chuckle and saw Dwight looking in. ‘She looks good.’

‘She travelled well.’ Dwight replied. ‘Passed her first vet check with flying colours.’

‘Good.’ Ross went back to scratching and Bathsheba lowered her head to rest it against his chest. ‘I’ll be taking her out tomorrow morning first thing. Give her a workout.’

‘She’ll enjoy that.’ Dwight said. ‘She’s probably a bit green. No-one but Prudie will attempt to ride her out.’ 

‘That’s because they value their skin.’ Ross chuckled. He was secretly proud of the fact that Bathsheba was his in all senses of the word. She only allowed Prudie to ride her when she felt like it, and no-one else could get her to produce the kinds of performances she was capable of except him. Joshua hadn’t even wanted to keep her until Ross had convinced him to give Bathsheba to him for his twentieth birthday instead of selling her on. Now, at ten years old, she was hitting her stride as a competition horse and they had a partnership that had won him a serious number of competitions in the past three years and bought him to the Olympics. ‘Hopefully she’ll scare off all the competition.’ Dwight chuckled and withdrew and Ross leaned his forehead against Bathsheba’s while she blew warm air over his hand.

‘This is our year, babe.’ he said to her. ‘I can feel it.’

*********

Jim sat at the side of the pool and watched as Silver took his turn off the board as he started his lineups. They had had lunch then rested then hit the gym to warm up with stretches and weight training and were now at the pool side. 

He stood up and walked over to take his turn climbing up the steps to the board. They were training with the Italians, Jamaicans and Irish and the pool wasn’t too busy which was the way he preferred it. Flint and Gunn were on the other side doing their own training on the 3m springboard which was their speciality. 

He walked around the back to the showers, wetting himself down thoroughly, and then started the climb up. They always started with lineups, necessary to adjust their body position for entry and warm up. He got to the mid-way mark, two other divers ahead of him and leaned against the rail as he waited. When it was his turn Jim walked out, making his sure his hands were dry before jettisoning his shammy off the side and then took his turn at the end of the board. He was starting with standing with his arms outstretched in a T shape, falling off the end into the water. He looked down briefly, inhaling and exhaling slowly as he focused. They he let himself fall forward, making sure the extension of his line was perfect, toes pointed and hands locked to ensure a smooth entry into the water. 

The water was cool and Jim felt the rush that he always did after a dive, a rush that never went away no matter how many times he did it. He surfaced, three strokes taking him to the side of the pool and got out, picking up his shammy and heading to the hot tub to dunk it and warm himself up a bit. Cold water and cool evening air could be a killer combination for muscles. Silver was waiting for him when he got to the steps, having swapped places so they could chat.

‘So.’ he said with a grin. Jim raised an eyebrow at him. He knew that smile well.

‘So?’ he asked, deciding to play ignorant.

‘An event rider?’ Silver said. ‘Isn’t that kind of out of your comfort zone?’

‘I didn’t know I had a comfort zone.’ Jim retorted, climbing up behind him for their synchro lineup. 

‘He’s not your usual type.’ Silver pointed out. 

‘Maybe that’s a good thing.’ Jim replied. ‘It’s not like any of my past relationships have been particularly successful. Maybe trying something with another athlete will be better. At least he will understand what it’s like to have to train all the time. And besides, it’s not like it might even get there. It might just be an Olympics fuck.’

‘I don’t know.’ Silver laughed. ‘You’re awfully sparkly-eyed.’

‘Um, have you seen him?’ Jim said. ‘He’s fucking gorgeous. I thought the photo was good, but Jesus he’s even hotter in real life. That almost never happens.’ They got to the top and walked out together, falling easily into the same stride. Down below Emma was watching them like a hawk. They positioned themselves, backs to the water and then executed a perfectly slow drop into the water, backs arched and entering with barely a splash. 

‘Your toes weren’t pointed enough.’ Emma said when they got to her, her face stern. ‘And you’re distracted.’ This was aimed at Jim. ‘I want your mind on the competition. You can fantasise about the size of Ross’ cock later.’ She had decided to take the initiative and find out what she was dealing with and had spent the afternoon googling Ross between coaching them and arguing with the staff about their facilities and the shortage of trampolines.

‘I am not.’ Jim protested, drying himself off. ‘I haven’t thought about his cock once this evening.’

‘Can we please stop saying the word cock?’ Silver hissed and nodded at the three stewards standing behind them and giving them looks. Emma and Jim had a tendency towards being a touch too loud on occasion. They both turned and glared at him and he put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘Just saying.’ 

‘Get your arse back up there.’ Emma replied. ‘I want your entries perfect.’ 

‘Fine.’ Jim muttered and stomped off. Emma looked at Silver and he grinned.

‘He really likes this one.’ he said by way of explanation.

‘Heaven help us.’ Emma sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

*********

Ross finally got back to the Village with the others a little after eight. He was tired, the flight and the excitement of being in Rio (and what had happened on the plane) starting to catch up with him. They got to their floor and piled out of the lift, the girls heading to their unit and he and Francis to his when he spotted what looked like a bright blue post-it note on his door. It had writing in gold Sharpie on it. 

FOUND YOU. TAG YOU’RE IT!!!! There was a heart drawn next to the message.

Ross found himself smiling like an idiot. Next to him Francis was giving him and the note an incredulous look. 

‘Christ.’ he said. ‘You’re falling arse over tit for him, aren’t you?’

‘No.’ Ross replied, aware of how horribly defensive he sounded. ‘It’s just…a thing. We don't even know each other.’

‘A thing that’s making you smile like that.’ Francis said opening the door and going inside. Ross took the note off the door and tucked it in his pocket and followed.


	5. The Run Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins :)

Ross woke up a few minutes before his alarm was due to go off as he usually did. He checked the time and looked across at Francis, who was still sleeping. He got up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching the kinks out of his spine before heading to the bathroom. He was only due to go to the centre at nine, which meant he could get his workout in before. Unlike Francis he preferred to work out in the morning rather than the evening, loosening up and stretching out his body before getting on Bathsheba, which was another workout all by itself.

He showered and got dressed and the thought crossed his mind that maybe he might not be alone. He picked up his phone and shouldered his kit bag and left the room on socked feet before putting his trainers on by the door. Once outside he sent a message and then stood, balancing on one foot while waiting for a reply.

_06:15 You awake?_

His phone vibrated a second later.

_06:16 Jesus. What time do you get up?_

_06:17 Now. Going to get breakfast and then gym. Got to be at the centre at nine._

_06:18 Wait for me._

Ross felt the pleasant surge of butterflies in his stomach and watched the lights of the lift. About five minutes later the lift indicated it was coming down. He ran one hand through his unruly curls in a nervous gesture and found he was holding his breath when the lift stopped at his floor. The doors opened and he saw Jim standing there, his own bag over his shoulder and with sleep mussed hair, his bright smile lighting up the whole morning.

‘Hi.’ he said.

‘Hi.’ Ross replied and got in. He leaned against the opposite side of the lift and tried to play it cool. That lasted all of three seconds until the lift doors closed and Jim all but launched himself at Ross and he ended up pinned with an armful of diver that was kissing the hell out of him.

It was fast and furious and Ross was left breathing erratically and with the taste of Jim’s minty toothpaste in his mouth as they got to the bottom and Jim grinned and strolled out ahead of him like nothing had just happened.

‘Bloody fucking hell.’ Ross muttered to himself and followed as if led by the nose.

That was the start of a new routine for them both. Their training schedules were equally punishing but that first morning showed them that they could at least get in a little time together before being pulled apart by their respective commitments. They had had breakfast together that first morning, chatting about the games and their respective training and then the conversation had drifted to families and interests and by the end of that first week, they knew a lot more about each other than they had reckoned on. Ross found Jim very easy to talk to, funny and sweet and surprisingly intelligent. He was also very interested in Ross, asking him endless questions about his events and Bathsheba. The conversations continued throughout the day, with text messages flying back and forth and Ross aligning his breaks with Jim so that they could chat. Then breakfast had turned into gym, and Ross had gone to go run through his routine of cardio and weight training by himself while Jim went off to the part of the gym set aside for the gymnasts and divers where they could do dry runs of their more acrobatic exercises. He had snuck off early one morning to go watch what Jim got up to, amazed by the way the divers threw themselves around. He hadn’t realised that it was physically possible for a diver to do a somersault from standing, thinking that somehow they could only manage it from a board. Watching Jim for a half hour had proven him wrong on that count. It had also done absolutely nothing for his concentration and the vow he’d made to himself to try and keep things uncomplicated until he’d at least finished his events.

After gym, they had gone their separate ways – Jim to the pool and Ross to the equestrian centre. The rest of his day was spent doing roadwork and jump work with Bathsheba who was always up and ready for him when he arrived. Prudie was an efficient groom, making sure her charge was well looked after and impeccably turned out, although her post-training brush down was done by Ross. He liked that part of the day, working the dust from Bathsheba’s black coat until she was gleaming. In return she leaned against him and occasionally head butted him to remind him that Polos were due. Then it was back to the Village and dinner and a cooling down swim in the pool outside the block. He rarely saw Jim at night because the divers tended to get at about 9:45 after he was crashed out in bed, which made their mornings together even more valuable.

That being said, he never got up to an empty door, one of Jim’s blue notes always there to greet him before being taken inside and carefully hoarded in his log book like a good luck charm.

********

‘Opening ceremony in six days.’ Jim said, casually licking yogurt off the back of a spoon and making Ross’ hormones go wild. ‘Which means I have the night off tonight.’ He grinned and gave Ross a meaningful look. ‘And the day off tomorrow.’

‘Well, I don’t.’ Ross replied. ‘As much as I’d like to. I have to go into the centre tomorrow. Bath’s jump is a bit off and I want to do some fencework.’

‘Oh come on.’ Jim said. ‘You can come and play with me for an hour tonight at least. I’ve been really good.’

‘I can’t.’ Ross protested unhappily. As much as he’d wanted to, it was messing with his head how much he wanted to do nothing but go around the table they were sitting at and snog the life out of Jim. And that was just for starters.

Their little assignations in the lift had become something of a talking point after the lift doors had opened to a crowd of track athletes on the seventh floor while they had been wrapped around each other with their tongues down each other’s throats. Now it seemed everyone knew about the brewing romance. Jim had also taken to sending Ross selfies throughout the day, usually showing acres of bare tanned skin and bright blue-green eyes that drove Ross into a frenzy. He was pretty sure that he’d never masturbated so much in his life, frequently hiding out in the men’s bathroom. Jim had even offered to send him a picture of his cock and Ross had vetoed that most strongly. Now he was looking at Ross with a gleam in his eyes that told Ross he was in big trouble. It was like a laser beam in its intensity.

‘Please?’ he said, giving him a pleading look and tangling his feet with Ross’ under the table. ‘You can do anything you want to me.’ It was dirty poker, especially after some of the absolutely filthy texts Jim had sent him detailing some of the things he wanted Ross to do to him. He’d discovered that Jim had few boundaries when it came to what might be construed as salacious conversation, both verbal and written. It had blown his mind a little in fact, being used to doing things in a far more subtle way.

‘Fucking hell.’ he muttered. ‘That’s not bloody fair, and you know it.’

‘If it gets me what I want.’ Jim said unrepentantly, dipping his spoon back into the yogurt pot and now making a massive production of licking it off. Ross stared, utterly transfixed by the flick of tongue and imagining just how good Jim probably was with his mouth. ‘Namely one undisturbed hour with you. I am sick of snogging in the lift and having to wank by myself in that fucking tiny bathroom after I get back because you’re like a fucking pensioner and go to sleep at nine.’

‘I have to sleep.’ Ross replied, knowing he was probably fighting a losing battle. ‘I am no good if I don’t get my eight hours.’

‘One hour, Ross.’ Jim said. ‘One teeny little hour.’ He smiled winningly at him, his dimples deep, and Ross sighed. ‘And then I swear to God I will let you get on with it.’

‘You’re fucking awful.’ he replied. ‘Fine, one bloody hour.’

‘Yes!’ Jim said. ‘Although once you get there you may not want to leave.’

‘Oh, I’ll be leaving.’ Ross replied. ‘And don’t even think that we’re fucking tonight.’

‘Why not?’ Jim said, a shadow of a pout making him ridiculously cute. ‘It relieves stress.’

‘Because I don’t want to relieve my stress.’ Ross said. ‘I need my edge. It keeps me sharp and I need to be on form for this.’ Part of that was true. He thrived on tension before a competition. The other part was that he knew once he slept with Jim he’d be unable to think about anything else.

‘Okay, you win.’ Jim replied, but his foot was sliding up Ross’ leg. ‘I’ll be on my best behaviour.’

‘Liar.’ Ross said, narrowing his eyes at him. ‘I don’t trust you an inch.’

‘I wouldn’t either.’ Jim replied, a decidedly wicked edge to his smile.

They left the catering facility after breakfast and walked over to the gym, shoulders bumping as they wandered into each other’s paths. Ross wasn’t given to open displays of affection, but this morning something seemed to click inside him and he reached for Jim’s hand. The look of astonishment he got was worth every bit of piss taking he was going to get, especially when he looked up and spotted two familiar faces coming towards them. He could practically hear Verity and Demelza’s collective internal squeals of glee.

‘Good morning.’ they chimed.

‘Morning.’ Jim said brightly, tightening his grip as if he could feel Ross’ sudden need to bolt. ‘You haven’t seen my lot around have you?’

‘They were on their way to breakfast when we saw them last.’ Demelza said. The burgeoning romance had caused something of a bonding between the two floors and the riders and divers were now on a first name basis. They had even taken to coming along to breakfast, although they all tended to keep their distance and treat what was happening like a live action rom-com, watching with interest from a neighbouring table.

‘They’ll probably catch up with me later.’ Jim said.

‘You off to the gym?’ Verity was all but waggling her eyebrows at Ross.

‘Yeah.‘ he replied, giving her his best death glare.

‘We’ll see you there after breakfast then.’ she said and tugged Demelza off with her. The sound of giggling floated back to Ross and he sighed.

‘Those two.’ he muttered.

‘I like them.’ Jim looked back over his shoulder. ‘They’re really nice.’

‘Only because you don’t have to listen to their awful double entendres about riding.’ Ross replied and Jim laughed. He turned so Ross almost walked straight into him.

‘I’ve never tried riding.’ he said, all mock innocence. ‘On a horse that is.’ He stepped into Ross’ space, looking up at him from under his eyelashes with so much flirtacious intent in his blue-green eyes that it was like being hit with an amorous sledgehammer. Ross suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

‘I could teach you.’ he found himself replying. ‘On a horse that is.’

‘I think I’d like that.’ Jim was even closer now and Ross found himself staring at Jim’s mouth. ‘You know it’s been exactly eight days since you kissed me and I haven’t even gotten so much as a hand down the pants.’

‘That’s not my fault.’ Ross replied, his cheeks burning. Jim was nothing if not forthright.

‘You could remedy that situation right now.’ Jim replied, his eyes sparkling. ‘We could do a detour into the change rooms and occupy a shower cubicle.’

‘I could.’ Ross said. ‘But there’s would be like a thousand people around us.’ He stepped back into the safe zone.

‘Spoilsport.’ Jim laughed and kept walking and Ross got towed along. For someone who was as short and graceful as Jim was, he was enormously strong. Ross had been quite surprised when they had talked about their weight training and found that Jim was lifting loads that were heavier than his own. He’d also gone to say goodbye one morning and come across Jim doing weighted push-ups with a ninety-kilogram weight on his back and that had done the strangest thing to him.

When they got to the gym they split up as the normally did and Jim headed off. Ross went to go start his workout, a half hour on treadmill and then another half hour with weight training and finally another half hour with fitness balls and resistance bands. He put his earbuds in and started his playlist, getting lost in the music as he ran on the treadmill. About half way through he looked to the side and saw that Demelza had joined him. He pulled his earbuds out.

‘The diving boys have invited us to a party in their unit tonight.’ she said. ‘I think it’s an excellent idea.’

‘No.’ Ross said. ‘I’ve already said that I can go for an hour and that’s it. If you lot go then it’s going to turn into an all-nighter.’

‘Scaredy-cat.’ Demelza laughed. ‘You just don’t want to go because you’re scared you’ll end up having sex with him.’

Ross winced as the woman on the treadmill on the other side of them grinned as she overheard what Demelza was saying. Demelza also noticed and her grin grew wider.

‘Let’s get an objective opinion.’ she said, then directed herself to the woman. ‘He has the opportunity to sleep with an incredibly hot boy from the diving team tonight. I think he should just suck it up and do it because it might actually dislodge the stick up his arse.’

‘Dem!’ Ross hissed, feeling himself going red.

‘I think that’s a very good idea.’ the woman said in a noticeable German accent. ‘I would.’

‘I would too.’ Demelza said. ‘See?’ She looked at Ross sternly. ‘And it will loosen you up a bit.’

‘I don’t need to be loose.’ Ross protested. ‘I need to be focused.’

He had just got back into his rhythm when Silver, Flint and Gunn walked past on their way to go train.

‘So you two finally going to fuck tonight?’ Silver said conversationally as he passed Ross. ‘Because if you are I need to make alternate sleeping arrangements. Jim’s fucking loud in bed.’ That was enough to make Ross lose his stride and almost come off the treadmill while Demelza dissolved into helpless giggles.

‘Does everyone fucking know about this?’ he demanded to no-one in particular.

‘Yes.’ they all said in unison and Ross felt like he was stuck in a Greek tragedy.

‘I’m done.’ he said, taking his towel off the bars and flinging it over his shoulder. He stalked off, their laughter ringing in his ears.

*********

The day got progressively worse. Ross arrived at the centre to Prudie in tears because Bathsheba had stomped on her foot and Joshua looking less than impressed because Francis’ horse Amadeus was limping slightly and haranguing his groom because of it. Ross knew better than to get in between his father and the object of his displeasure and so he gave him a nod and left him to it. He went to the team tack room and changed into his breeches and boots, strapping on his watch and putting on his gloves and helmet.

Prudie was putting Bathsheba’s brushing boots on when he came out and he mounted up and took the saddled and smug looking mare out to the back bridle track that had been set up for the event riders to practise on and let her canter around it at a gentle speed to warm her up. Bathsheba’s elastic stride ate up the ground, her powerful muscles bunching and releasing smoothly underneath Ross. He kept his weight off her back, using his thighs to keep himself raised in the saddle, hands and head steady as they started up the slope. Bathsheba carried her head naturally high and Ross held the reins fairly loosely, hands high up on her neck to give her freedom to run. She was alert, her ears pricked as they started down the slope on the other side. The first training jump was a log between two standing brushy plants and he felt her gather herself, easing the reins back to ensure she was putting in the correct number of strides. Bathsheba took it easily, tucking her feet up under her and clearing it by at least a metre before landing solidly. They went around the rest of the course, taking their time and easing into the jumps. Of the three events, cross country was the most physically demanding for horse and rider and Bathsheba was blowing by the time they came in. Ross let her walk it off, cooling her down before they went back to the stable. He dismounted and Joshua walked over to him, his stern face set in its usual inscrutable expression.

‘How is she?’ he asked, one hand on Bathsheba’s neck.

‘Smooth.’ Ross replied. ‘Good acceleration.’ Joshua nodded and Prudie came over to take Bathsheba from them.

‘And you?’ he asked. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Good.’ Ross replied. ‘I’m eating well, sleeping properly. I feel okay.’

‘I heard that you may have a diversion.’ Joshua said and Ross stopped dead. His father’s dark eyes had an unmistakable twinkle in them.

‘I’m going to kill them all.’ he said and Joshua chuckled, the same deep chuckle that Ross had inherited.

‘I think it’s a good thing.’ he said. ‘You know your mother and I met at a competition.’

‘I’ve only heard that story about a hundred times, Dad.’ Ross said.

‘Demelza said he’s nice.’ Joshua said. ‘He’s a swimmer?’

‘A diver actually.’ Ross replied as they walked over to the training arena. ‘And Dem needs to keep her mouth shut. Besides it’s not anything at the moment.’

‘I don’t know. Breakfast together every day sounds like it’s something.’ Joshua was grinning. ‘And your mother will be delighted if you bring a nice young man home. She’s starting to think you’re actually a monk. You should invite him for dinner once your events are finished. We’d love to meet him.’

‘I’ll think about it.’ Ross muttered darkly as they got to the fence. Demelza had Merlin in the ring, running through her freestyle routine. His dapple grey coat was shiny, like he’d been polished. She was the image of poise, her head and hands perfectly still as Merlin floated past in his extended trot. ‘If I’m honest, if anyone’s going to win anything it’s going to be her.’

‘I don’t know.’ There was a glimmer of paternal pride at the edges of Joshua’s smile. ‘I think you have a good chance.’

‘We’ll see.’ Ross replied, but he returned the smile.

**********

‘He’s very good looking.’ Rose Hawkins handed Jim’s phone back to him. ‘He has a lovely smile.’

‘It took me ages to get that one.’ Jim said. ‘He’s really weird about having his photo taken for some reason. Especially in the morning.’ They were sitting in the stands while Jim was on a break. Rose had a special pass to come and watch him train, as did most of the families of the divers.

‘Am I going to get to meet him at some stage?’ she asked and Jim shrugged.

‘Maybe.’ he said. ‘If I can get him past the hand holding and snogging in the lift stage. He’s kind of skittish.’

‘He sounds adorable.’ Rose smiled at him.

‘He is.’ Jim replied. ‘He’s kind of like Bambi at the end when he grows up and gets stuck in that tree.’

‘God.’ Rose laughed. ‘Does that mean you’ve been licking his face then?’

‘I fucking wish.’ Jim snickered. ‘Like I said, he’s skittish.’

‘That is not a bad thing at all.’ Rose said. ‘I do worry about your tendency to fall into bed with people sometimes.’

‘No, I suppose not.’ Jim replied. ‘I really like him.’

‘Good.’ Rose said, patting his arm.

‘Jim.’ They turned and saw Emma down below. ‘Time.’

‘Back to the grindstone.’ he said, getting up and kissing Rose on the cheek before bounding back down to carry on training.

********

Ross’ started his afternoon by tacking up Bathsheba in her dressage saddle and double bridle and spent the next few hours doing a run-through of his dressage programme, the event he would be competing in first. Unlike Demelza’s events, the event riders only did a short pre-choreographed programme that included the same elements for every rider. It was challenging though, and he ran Bathsheba through it several times until it was starting to get dark. He dismounted long enough for Prudie to walk her off and took out his phone. Not surprisingly, he had several messages from Jim. Most were along the lines of how bored he was and entreating Ross to hurry up and get back for their allocated hour. There were a couple of pictures as well. They were all pretty tame, mostly Jim looking bored and grumpy for his benefit while the other divers grinned in the background. There was another of several bottles of alcohol. Ross sent back a snarky text about it and then he got another in reply that he opened without looking. The message simply said _would you prefer this? _and had a picture attached of the mid-section of Jim’s body, covered by a navy blue hoodie and dark jeans. Ross huffed and sent a message back.__

_17:07 No. Stop trying to tempt me._

His phone buzzed and the next shot almost made him drop his it. It was the same angle but this time Jim had pulled the hoodie up, showing off an immaculate set of abdominal muscles that made Ross want to run his tongue all over them. Jim also had his hand resting teasingly on the waistband of his jeans, as if about to undo them. Ross glared at his phone and replied.

_17:09 Jim. Stop it._

_17:10 Make me._

_17:11 If I knew how, I would._

_17:12 It’s easy. Just put your cock in me._

That _was _enough to make him drop the phone.__

*********

They packed up and got ready to go back to the Village at seven, an hour before they would normally have done. Joshua had been surprisingly amenable to them leaving a little earlier than usual and Ross had his suspicions as to why. These were confirmed when Joshua instructed him to go and ‘enjoy himself for a little bit’ with a wink that made Ross duck his head and walk to the coach as quickly as he could. It would seem his dropping the phone in full view of Prudie and Elsie, Verity’s groom, had not gone unnoticed.

When they got back the GB block was already well underway with pre-Opening Ceremony parties which would no doubt run until the actual ceremony. Ross took advantage of the chaos to make a discreet trip to the vending machines in the basement level for supplies. Jim’s little display and his very blatant invitation had made Ross start to seriously question if he was going to be able to hold out. When he walked back the astroturf terrace was full and he had to push through throngs of people to get inside. They went up in the lift and when they got to their floor, it seemed like a carnival was in full swing. The rest of the equestrians had pretty much invited all the other nations’ representatives around and it was very festive and very loud. The two other riders sharing with Ross and Francis had started a bucket of punch in the sink and there was club music vying with hard rock to create a cacophony of noise.

‘I’m glad you thought you were having an early night.’ Demelza laughed as her and Vee headed off to their room. They had plans to hit the party upstairs and then maybe take it elsewhere if the opportunity arose and planned on making a splash as they had put it to groans from him and Francis. Ross knew that Demelza had her eye on Flint and Vee was probably going to be more than happy to make up the foursome with Gunn. And judging from his best friend and cousin’s exploits, an actual foursome could well be on the cards.

Francis and Elizabeth were already snogging on Francis’ bed when he went in and Ross snorted and grabbed some clean clothes before hitting the shower. He washed the sweat and dirt off of him, thinking about what he was going to do and say once he got upstairs. He wasn’t like the others, often preferring to duck out of the craziness that accompanied the worldwide equestrian circuit. He obsessed briefly then dressed in a plain white t-shirt and his black skinny jeans, towelling his hair dry enough to partially subdue it into neatness and then doused himself in aftershave. As a final touch he folded up the strip of condoms and shoved them in his back pocket. When he came out of the bathroom he found Francis with his hand up Elizabeth’s shirt and heaved a sigh as he grabbed a hoodie and the bottle of vodka he’d procured from duty free on their way to Rio and saluted them as he walked out, chucks in one hand and the bottle in the other.

‘Try to be done before I get back.’ he said and they blithely ignored him and carried on sucking each other’s faces off. Then he went to stop in at the next door unit and found that the girls had dressed and departed in record time according to their roommates. He left the unit, hopping around as he put his shoes on and trying not to drop the bottle, dodging people left and right as he struggled through to the lift. He had to wait a few minutes, the lift being constantly busy ferrying the partying GB athletes between floors but finally managed to get in one that was marginally overloaded. When he got to the twelfth floor it was like stepping into a night club, the music already thumping and people amassed in the hallway.

The divers’ door was open and he went in, squeezing between people until he spotted a familiar flash of blond hair and made his way towards it. Jim was sitting on the sink counter in the weirdly bare kitchenette section, barefoot and in the same jeans and navy hoodie as earlier, a bottle of something bright blue in his hand and laughing with Silver and Flint, who already had his arm around Demelza and his hand on her behind in what looked like a very friendly hold.

Jim looked over and saw him, handed his bottle to Silver, smiled and jumped off. He came over to Ross, grabbed the vodka from him and chucked it at Flint who caught it neatly then took his hand and led him without ceremony to the door off the living room corridor. Ross barely had a chance to say anything before they were both inside and he found himself being pushed up against the now closed bedroom door.

‘Only an hour, right? That’s okay, I’ve got you right where I want you.’ Jim said and Ross felt his heart skip at the way he was looking at him.

‘It would seem so.’ he replied and Jim snorted a laugh and went in for a kiss that was very clear about how he was feeling. Ross’ brain completely bypassed any and all concerns and he opened his mouth, letting Jim control the kiss and feeling all his senses flare. Jim kissed like he seemed to do everything else, all in with both feet. When he finally pulled away, Ross was almost dizzy as his body started screaming at him to just go with what it was feeling.

‘What about that?’ he asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the party. Jim laughed and grabbed him by the shirt, wrestling him away from the door and walking him backwards until he could shove Ross in the chest with both hands. Ross went over backwards, bouncing onto the bed, and then Jim climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs and reaching back just long enough to pull the hoodie over his head and chuck it on the floor. Ross inhaled sharply as he stared at the beautifully toned body in front of him and all thoughts of protesting went right out of his head. Jim saw the expression on his face and laughed again.

‘You never did tell me of you liked what you saw.’ he said, voice dropping as he leaned over Ross, one hand planted either side of him.

‘Fuck.’ Ross reached up and ran his hands over Jim’s perfectly smooth chest and down his stomach, feeling the taut muscles flex under his hands. He looked up and saw that Jim was watching him intently. ‘I might have to go back on what I said earlier.’

‘Excellent news.’ Jim said then bounded off of him, making Ross wince as a knee briefly collided with his hip. He watched Jim go into the bathroom and there was the sound of him scratching around before he came back with a strip of condoms and a pump bottle of lube. He chucked them on the bed next to Ross and then jumped back on.

Ross picked the condoms up and stared at them, his mind racing with possibilities as he dragged his ones out of his back pocket. Jim was back on top of him, shifting in such a way that his body was responding extremely quickly, and he laughed and plucked them from Ross’ fingers.

‘So it’s not just me.’ he said, rocking back and forth once, grinding down enough that Ross had to bite his lip to keep from moaning. ‘Fuck, you’re already hard.’

‘If I wasn’t you could probably safely assume I was dead.’ Ross replied, grabbing for the loops of Jim’s jeans to pull him down harder, the friction on his cock absolutely delicious. ‘And you’re doing a very good job of riding.’

‘Wait until I get you inside me.’ Jim said, looking cocky as fuck and all the more gorgeous for it. ‘I’m going to make you scream so loudly we’ll level this whole fucking block.’

‘I don’t scream.’ Ross said, thrusting up against him. ‘Jesus Christ. This is insane.’

‘Good insane.’ Jim’s hands were on his belt. ‘Get your fucking clothes off.’

Ross sat up long enough to let Jim grab the hem of his t-shirt and yank it up and over his head, getting momentarily tangled before it came off and disappeared in the same general direction as Jim’s hoodie. He got hold of Jim around the waist, pulling him back in to lick at his mouth, the gesture descending into a messy kiss as Jim wrapped both arms around his neck and wriggled so that he could do something similar with his legs, locking his ankles at the small of Ross’ back. They kissed for what seemed like ages, all spit and teeth and tongues tangling frantically. Jim now had his fingers tangled in Ross’ hair, tugging just hard enough. Ross was so hard that every shift of Jim against his cock was threatening to shove him over the edge and he managed to push him off, both of them panting.

‘We have to slow down.’ he said between breaths.

‘You want to stop?’ Jim asked, obviously trying his hardest not to look disappointed. ‘Am I going too fast for you?’ Ross laughed and stuck his face in Jim’s neck, breathing in his smell. He smelt faintly of chlorine and it made Ross smile.

‘No.’ he replied. ‘But if you keep going like this I’m going to come really fucking soon and that will be that.’ He pulled back and looked at Jim, faces only inches apart. ‘It’s been kind of a long time since I last did this.’

‘How long?’ Jim asked. He was almost vibrating in Ross’ arms, his arousal written all over his face and in his dilated pupils.

‘Over a year.’ Ross took a deep breath, trying to control himself. ‘And you’re so stupidly hot that this is going to blow up very fucking shortly.’ That got him a broad smile and then Jim moved back, falling over onto the bed. They both laughed and Ross lay back down again. Jim turned around and stretched out alongside him. Ross also turned to face him, trying to make sure he didn’t fall off the narrow surface. Jim hooked one leg over his hip and ran the backs of his fingers along Ross’ cheekbone, the one with the scar.

‘How did you get that?’ he asked. ‘I’ve been dying to ask.’

‘Falling off Bathsheba when she stalled and going face first into a jump.’ Ross replied. ‘Not my finest hour.’

‘I like it.’ Jim was now leaning over him and tracing the scar with his fingertip. ‘Makes you look dangerous.’ He ran his fingers down Ross’ neck and over his collar bone and then down onto his chest. ‘I also like this.’ Ross looked down at his own chest, covered in thick soft black hair.

‘Not quite like you.’ he said and Jim snickered.

‘Waxing.’ he replied. ‘It helps with hydrodynamics.’

‘Seriously?’ Ross found that funny and also very endearing. ‘Doesn’t that hurt?’

‘Like a fucking bitch.’ Jim replied. He was now tracing Ross’ nipple and little shoots of electricity were dancing just under Ross’ skin. He reached up, getting Jim by the back of his neck and pulling him back in to kiss again. He took it slower this time, outlining Jim’s mouth with his tongue before dipping in, licking slowly and listening to Jim’s pants go up in pitch a little. He responded and this time the tangle was far more languid as they explored each other’s mouths. Ross pulled Jim over onto him, his hands roaming over Jim’s back until he felt the texture of irregular skin under his hands and stopped.

‘What is that?’ he asked and Jim shifted to turn away from him. Ross moved until his back was against the wall and Jim lay on his stomach, revealing an expanse of tanned back with a beautifully rendered tattoo of a kingfisher in soft washes of colour that made it look like a watercolour painting just below his left shoulder blade. ‘Fuck, that’s lovely.’

‘Thank you.’ Jim had his head turned towards him. ‘Have you got any?’ Ross grinned. He undid the top button of his jeans and shimmied them down enough that Jim could see the stippled horse head that was on his hip. Jim moved his hand down and ran his thumb over it. ‘I like that too.’ He looked back up at Ross. ‘Not much I don’t like to be honest.’ Their eyes locked and then they crashed back into each other again, this kiss getting right back to their former frenzied pace very quickly. Ross let Jim push him back into the wall and worked the buttons of Jim’s jeans open enough to then slide both hands down the back of them, his eyes widening as he realised Jim wasn’t wearing any underwear.

‘Oh bloody hell.’ he panted and Jim took advantage of his astonishment to lick a wet line up the side of his neck and bite him gently on the earlobe, making him moan out loud. ‘You’re rather prepared.’

‘You don’t know the half of it.’ Jim breathed into his neck and Ross moved his fingers a little lower, encountering wetness.

‘Oh Jesus.’ He was now lost, completely blown away by everything that was happening. ‘What the fuck did you do?’

‘Made sure that we actually get to the finish line before anyone else decides to cock block us any further. Besides I was bored this afternoon.’ Jim replied. He was pushing back against Ross’ fingers. ‘Christ, just put them in me. Please.’ The last word was a desperate little whine and Ross did as he was told, catching his breath as two went in easily. He’d forgotten how good this felt, and the tight clutch of Jim’s body around them made him almost come on the spot. Jim was doing his best to help, shoving at his jeans until he finally managed to get them down around his thighs and Ross could slide his fingers all the way in. Not only that, but he could now look down and see Jim’s cock, flushed and shiny at the head and he swallowed noisily. It was as pretty as the rest of him. He took it in his hand, thumb smoothing over the head of Jim’s cock and spreading the pre-come already slicking his skin.

‘Fuck.’ Jim was now moaning softly, his face in Ross’ neck. He bit at Ross’ collarbone lightly. ‘I want you.’ Ross moved his hand, light strokes over velvety soft skin.

‘So much for slow.’ he muttered and Jim snorted into his neck and then licked at his neck.

‘Bugger slow.’ he breathed. ‘Or better yet, bugger me.’ That made Ross laugh and he pulled his fingers out and twisted them both round so Jim was on his back. He got between his knees and undid his own jeans enough so he could shove them and his briefs down and saw the look of delighted surprise on Jim’s face when he looked down at Ross’ now exposed cock. ‘Fuck, you’re big. Happy fucking days.’ He looked back up and locked eyes with Ross. ‘Fuck me. I want that gorgeous cock in me right fucking now.’

‘Slut.’ Ross said and gave him a light slap on the backside as he bundled Jim’s jeans up around his ankles. Jim was about to kick them off but Ross batted his hands away, reaching for one of the condoms and tearing it open with his teeth before rolling it on, a few pumps of the lube bottle slicking him up. He bent Jim’s legs back and Jim watched him move into position and line up, throwing his head back as Ross pushed in. He was tight and hot and there was a wonderful moment of resistance and then acceptance and Ross went in to the hilt, gasping at the feel of Jim around him. ‘Fuck, that’s good.’ He braced one hand on Jim’s jeans and the other against the wall. ‘How do you want it?’

‘Go deep.’ Jim moaned back at him. ‘I want you to come all the way inside me.’ He had one hand gripping the pillow under his head and the other on his own cock. ‘Make me fucking scream.’

Ross obeyed, pulling out almost all the way before slamming back in, the bed shifting underneath them from the force of his thrusts as he went for it, pounding into Jim relentlessly. He didn’t care about anything at that moment, the only sound he heard was their combined moans which were almost drowned out by the thump of the bass from the living room. He could smell them both, sweat and arousal and the neutral smell of lube and latex. It was heady and he looked down into Jim’s eyes and abandoned himself to the heat flooding through him. Jim looked back up at him, his lips parted as he panted.

‘Jesus, that’s so fucking good.’ He managed to get it out before Ross shifted position and that got a sharp cry. Ross smiled, and kept going, hitting high up inside him and making Jim shake. He could feel the way Jim’s body was starting to tighten reflexively around him and sped up, the impact of their bodies loud in his ears. It arrived too soon, all heat and blinding pleasure and Ross watched as Jim arched back into the bed and came all over himself before the feeling of him bearing down knocked him flying into his own orgasm, almost choking on it as he doubled over and rode it out. He came down slowly, barely conscious as he waded through the waves of endorphins to something vaguely resembling coherent thought. Underneath him, Jim was in a similar state, chest heaving and covered with white stripes.

‘Fucking hell.’ he said and he sounded hoarse. ‘Christ, that was fucking good.’

‘No shit.’ Ross eased himself out and took a moment to take off and tie up the condom before lobbing it at the bin in the corner and making a satisfied noise as it went in. He fell back down next to Jim, jeans at half-mast and still a little disoriented. Jim was kicking his jeans off and Ross took the time to admire his now naked form. He ran his hand up Jim’s side and then pulled him in close, mindless of the stickiness on his skin. Jim snuffled into his neck and then leaned back to pick up his watch off the bedside cabinet.

‘We still have twenty minutes.’ he said and Ross snorted.

‘Fuck twenty minutes.’ he replied. ‘You have no idea what you’ve started.’

‘Well then, why don’t you show me?’ Jim replied, his eyes flashing a challenge.

***********

Ross did not go back to his room after an hour had passed.

He did not, in fact, go back to his room at all.

The first time turned into three. The second had Jim on top of him, demonstrating his riding technique very admirably indeed. The final time was when they were both more or less passed out at some time in the morning. This was gentler, foreheads resting against each other’s as Ross drove in slowly, deep thrusts making Jim moan softly in his ear and tighten his legs around him until they came within seconds of each other.

He only realised that he’d gone to sleep in Jim’s bed when the door was thrown open the next morning, startling them both awake. Of course matters weren’t helped by the fact that they were barely covered by Jim’s duvet, more suited to dressing a single bed than hiding the fact that they were both very naked underneath it, and tangled up in a way that left nothing to the imagination. And if that wasn’t bad enough, condom wrappers littered the floor and the whole room smelt very strongly of what could only be described as nocturnal activities.

‘For fuck’s sake.’ Emma said, nudging a wrapper with the toe of her trainer. ‘I suppose I should be thankful that at least you’re being safe.’

‘Why are you even here?’ Jim groaned, turning over. The duvet slipped off his backside and he made no move to cover himself. Ross took the opportunity to use the extra coverage to minimise his own state. Emma grinned at them, her light blue eyes twinkling.

‘You have an interview, sweetheart.’ she said, sugary sweet and sharp as a blade. ‘Or did you forget?’

‘Oh fuck.’ Jim said, bolting off the bed and into the bathroom. Emma let out a deep laugh.

‘What have you got yourself tangled in?’ she asked Ross, her face a picture of amusement.

‘I have no idea.’ Ross protested. ‘I never behave like this.’

‘He has that effect on people.’ Emma said. ‘Go on, get dressed and I’ll corral him once you’re gone.’ She left the room and Ross scrambled out of the bed, diving into his clothes. He heard the shower going and went to the bathroom, opening the door and sticking his head in. The sight of a sleek naked Jim under the water made his hormones dance but he gave them a sharp kick in the balls.

‘I’m going.’ he said and Jim turned, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

‘Will I see you later?’ he asked and Ross smiled.

‘Count on it.’ he replied.

He got back downstairs without incident and went into his unit. There were prostrate bodies strewn across most of the available surfaces. Francis and Elizabeth were curled up together in Francis’ bed when he went in and they gave him matching bemused looks over the duvet.

‘Look what the cat dragged in.’ Elizabeth said and Francis snickered.

Ross gave them two fingers and went to go wash Jim off of him, albeit reluctantly. In the shower he ran his hands over his own skin and found he couldn’t stop smiling.


	6. Dinner With The Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross asks Jim out...sort of officially.

Ross was extremely surprised that, contrary to what he thought would happen, he was actually far more focused than what he had been the days before. They were on jumping, and he had Bathsheba in the arena and working through a series of warm-ups – figure eights and change of legs at the different gaits. The previous night had left him completely drained of tension and he moved with Bathsheba almost effortlessly. In return, she was calm and balanced as they made the rounds until it was time for their morning break. He dismounted and Prudie took her to walk off and went to where Joshua and Verity were standing at the side of the ring. She was going in next to train and she was waiting for her groom Cleo to bring Debonair out from the yard behind them.

‘Fences after lunch.’ Joshua said to him. ‘Then you can take her out for a run. She’ll probably need to get it out of her system by then.’ He gave Verity a look and they grinned at each other before he walked off. Ross frowned and then realised what was going on. He rounded on his cousin, looking appalled.

‘You absolute cow.’ he said to her. ‘You told on me?’

‘No.’ Verity said, grinning. ‘Francis simply said to him that you rolled in sometime this morning looking stupidly happy and that was all the information that was passed on. Joshua’s not stupid, Ross. Besides, you’ve had that obnoxious grin on your face all morning and you’re so relaxed you might as well be lying down. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that you got your end away last night.’

‘What did he say?’ Ross looked in the direction of his father who had intercepted Cleo and was talking to her.

‘That it seems to have loosened you up just as predicted.’ Verity was grinning broadly. ‘And that this is the best we’ve seen you jump since we got here. If you want my opinion, you should fuck him every night before the competition. It seems to be better than all the other stuff you do to relax.’ She gave him a conspiratorial look. ‘So how was it?’ Ross checked to see that there was no-one else in earshot and smiled.

‘Phenomenal.’ he said and she giggled. ‘I don’t think it’s ever been that good.’ Then he looked at her. ‘How did your evening turn out? I was convinced that you and Gunn were going to hook up.’ He was surprised to see Verity blush, a delicate pink shade flooding her cheeks.

‘I met someone.’ she said, her voice low. ‘After Dem and Flint buggered off to go clubbing I was kind of left by myself and you and Jim were obviously occupied so I went for a walk.’

‘A walk where?’ Ross asked, intrigued.

‘Just down to the terrace.’ Verity replied. ‘I went to go stick my feet in the pool and there was a guy in there already floating around in one of those inflatable canoes and he paddled over and we kind of got talking. Nothing really happened though. It turned out that he’s one of the coxless pairs.’ She glared at Ross as he snorted with laughter. ‘Stop being so fucking juvenile.’

‘Sorry.’ Ross replied. ‘So what’s his name?”

‘Andrew Blamey.’ Verity replied. ‘He’s going to pop round tomorrow night and we’re going to have dinner together. An actual date, unlike you.’ She poked Ross in the chest.  
‘No.’ Ross protested. ‘Technically if meals count as dates, then Jim and I have been dating for a whole week already.’

‘Vee?’ Cleo was now coming towards them. ‘You ready?’

‘Yes.’ Verity put her helmet on and fastened it. She went to Debonair, a tall light bay Thoroughbred gelding with long slender legs, and Ross came up behind her, giving her a leg up just as he had their entire lives. She looked down at him. ‘And an actual date might not be such a bad idea, you know. Joshua wants us to all go over the Jose and Caro’s for dinner tonight. You should bring Jim.’ She gave Debonair a gentle touch of her heels and he trotted into the arena. Ross watched her go, turning over the idea in his head and finding that it wasn’t a bad one. He walked back over to the bench where his kit bag was sitting and dug out his phone and sent Jim a text, the first of the morning.

_11:48 Hey._

_11:49 Hi :) You having a good morning?_

_11:50 Pretty good. Just been told that apparently having sex with you has done me wonders._

_11:51 Ha! Told you so. How’s the training going?_

_11:52 Just finished my morning stuff. Going to have a break and then more jumps this afternoon. Should be back around 6?_

_11:53 You mean you’re getting back early? I might actually be able to spend some actual time with you????_

_11:54 Yeah._

_11:55 Good. And just so you know I meant actual time, not fucking. I don’t just want you because you made me come harder than anyone else ever has. In case you were wondering._

That made Ross chew on his lower lip for a second and then he decided to go all in.

_11:57 That’s kind of what I wanted to ask you._

_11:58 ???????_

_11:59 My parents are staying with friends of ours. They’ve invited us all for dinner tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me._

There was no reply for a few minutes and Ross was starting to have serious second thoughts about what he’d just done when his phone vibrated.

_12:00 Are you asking me out?_

_12:01 Yes._

_12:02 Like an actual meet the parents thing?_

_12:03 Yes. Is that okay? I don’t want to pressure you._

_12:04 You are joking, right? Er… YES._

_12:05 Yes, I’m pressuring you?_

_12:06 No, you wanker. Yes I want to go._

Ross stared at the screen, not quite believing what he’d read so he read it again, jumping a little when his phone buzzed.

_12:10 Hello? Is this thing on?_

_12:11 Yeah, sorry._

_12:12 DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT UNINVITING ME. I HAVE ALREADY PICKED OUT WHAT TO WEAR._

_12:13 Not that. Just this is kind of a serious thing._

_12:14 Is that bad?_

_12:15 No. Not at all. Just unexpected._

_12:16 Okay. Look I have to go and convince Emma that this is a very necessary and valuable use of my time. When should I be ready for?_

Ross looked across at Joshua who was walking back towards him.

‘What time are we convening tonight?’ he asked. Joshua raised his eyebrows at him.

‘Eight.’ he said. ‘That should give you time to change and get a taxi out to us.’ His dark eyes were curious. ‘Why?’

‘I might want to bring someone.’ Ross said, sending Jim the text. He looked back up and saw his father was smiling.

‘The diver?’ he asked. Ross smiled back.

‘The diver.’ he replied.

**********

The afternoon went by at a drag. The diving team had taken the opportunity if a day off to spend the afternoon on the beach. They had opted out of the official stretch set aside for the Olympic athletes and gone down to Ipanema instead so their families could come with them. Emma had of course gone along to supervise and make sure they stayed out of trouble.

‘You know we’re all adults, right?’ Flint had asked and she’d answered him with a glare.

They were now sitting out on the sand. Jim chewed on a nail and looked at his phone, still wet from his swim. Silver noticed the expression on his face and kicked him. Unlike the other three, he was under an enormous umbrella and smothered in factor 50. Being the only redhead on the team meant having to take serious precautions in the face of the others’ search for sun. Rose was sitting next to him, her face in a Jackie Collins novel.

‘Hey.’ Silver said. ‘What’s the face for?’

‘Ross just asked me if I want to go meet his parents.’ Jim replied. Silver raised his eyebrows and Rose lowered the book. They looked at each other and grinned.

‘That’s good right?’ Silver asked. ‘I mean I know you like him. I had to listen to how much you like him all fucking night.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not like you to be freaked out by something like this.’

‘And the fact that he’s asked you to go meet his parents is a very good sign.’ Rose added. ‘It’s a just a pity he’s gotten in first.’ She gave Jim an arch look and he glared back at her.

‘I’m not freaked out.’ he replied, folding his arms in a way that could only be described as defensive. ‘I can handle parents. And the reason I haven’t introduced him to you yet is purely logistical. And the fact that you’re so bloody full on you’d probably scare the shit out of him.’ Rose snorted at that and disappeared behind her book again.

‘Last time I give you any parental advice.’ she said. Jim huffed and went back to staring moodily at his phone.

‘Why are you completely shitting yourself about this?” Silver asked and then he lowered his sunglasses and gave Jim a comically astonished look. ‘Jesus fucking Christ. You’re not…are you?’ Rose lowered the book again, looked at Silver and then looked at Jim with a hopeful expression.

‘Shit.’ Jim kicked at the sand. ‘I shouldn’t be. I’ve known him for two weeks and fucked him once.’

‘Three times if we’re being technical.’ Silver said. ‘And you have all the signs.’ He chuckled. ‘You’re so fucked.’

‘This is true.’ Rose added. ‘You’ve got the same look that you had when you started snogging that boy from down the road behind the back shed. You were in love with him for ages.’

‘Fuck off, I was not.’ Jim protested. He looked out over the sea and the tension was clearly visible in the line of his shoulders. Finally he half turned to them. ‘Do you think they’ll like me?’ He went back to chewing on the nail. Rose huffed and leaned over to pull his hand away from his mouth.

‘Stop that. They’ll like you.’ she said. ‘I have yet to meet a person you can’t charm out of the trees.’

‘I know. I just want this go well.’ Jim said. ‘And once we’ve done this, I can throw you at him.’

‘I look forward to it.’ Rose cackled, back behind her book.

**********

Ross got back and practically galloped from the shuttle to the GB block. The others followed at a more sedate pace, laughing at how he was bouncing for the lift before they went up to their floor.

‘Will you calm the fuck down?’ Francis said. ‘You’re a nervous wreck.’

‘Maybe a first date without my entire family there would have been a better idea.’ Ross said, doing his best to pace in the lift. ‘That way if I fuck up I can die of embarrassment alone.’ He stopped and ran both hands over his face. ‘What in the fuck possessed me?’

‘You need a fucking drink, cuz.’ Francis said. Verity nodded.

‘I’ve never seen you like this.’ she said. ‘It’s like you’ve gone mental.’

‘Love does that to a person.’ Demelza said smugly and they all looked at her.

‘I am not in love with him.’ Ross retorted. ‘I just happen to like him a lot.’

‘Bollocks.’ she replied. ‘You’re a fucking mess. Look at you. You’re sweating like a horse.’

‘IT’S HOT!’ Ross roared and stomped out the lift as it opened on their floor, nearly bowling over two other riders who were waiting. The other three snickered and followed him out. Ross got to his door and stopped dead. There was an envelope stuck to it with his name written on it in metallic blue this time. Jim seemed to have an exhaustible variety of colours. He plucked it off and turned it over. On the back were the words _I got you something_. He smiled, all grumpiness extinguished in a second, and ripped it open. Inside was a friendship bracelet in blue, white and red. Ross took it out, smitten beyond all reasonable capability as he showed it to them.

‘Now that’s very patriotic.’ Francis said. He grinned at Elizabeth who was looking over his shoulder.

‘It’s sweet.’ she replied. ‘You’ve never done that for me.’

‘That’s because I’m not twelve.’ Francis replied and got a quick backhand in the other arm that made him wince.

Ross ignored him and went inside and to their room. He stripped off his clothes and went into the bathroom, getting an outraged protest from Francis.

‘Too fucking slow.’ he yelled back. ‘And you shouldn’t have insulted my present.’ He took his time, showering and then shaving and brushing his teeth. His hair took a while to tame and he came back out, wrapped in his towel, and found Francis on his bed, nose in a copy of Horse and Hound.

‘You finally fucking done?’ he asked, getting up and going to take his turn. Ross laughed and got dressed, going with a tried and tested combo of his grey jeans and black cotton shirt. He was just putting his shoes on when there was a knock at his door and Elizabeth stuck her head around it.

‘He in?’ she asked and came in at Ross’ nod, dressed in a blue satin kimono and carrying her washbag. ‘There’s no room in ours.’ Ross laughed and left them to it. He picked up his phone and wallet and left to go fetch Jim from upstairs. He got to the twelfth floor and heard loud music coming from the divers’ unit. Today it was Bloc Party. When he knocked, Flint opened the door. He was shirtless, wearing a pirate hat and a plastic eye patch.

‘I don’t want to know.’ Ross said and Flint smiled.

‘Come on in, me hearty.’ he replied in an appallingly bad attempt at a pirate accent. ‘His Royal Highness shall be with you shortly.’

‘Huh?’ Ross frowned and Flint nodded in the direction of Jim’s door.

‘He’s changed clothes about six times already.’ he said. ‘Between you and me, he’s freaking out a bit.’ He walked back out to the balcony where Ross could see Silver and Gunn leaning over and shouting down to someone.

Ross knocked on the door and after a moment it opened. He inhaled a little sharply as he looked at Jim. He was in black jeans and a light denim shirt, sleeves rolled up. His aftershave was light and oceanic and Ross couldn’t help inhaling as he looked him up and down.

‘Fuck.’ he finally said. ‘You look ….’ He trailed off as he noticed that Jim had a collection of bracelets on his left wrist alongside his stainless steel diver’s watch but that there wasn’t one like the one he’d been given. Jim noticed him looking and smiled at him.

‘It’s good luck charm.’ he explained. ‘It doesn’t work if I get one for myself.’

‘Oh.’ Ross said. ‘I haven’t got anything for you.’ Jim laughed.

‘Yeah, you do.’ he said, crinkling his nose at him and making the butterflies already flocking in Ross’ stomach take flight.

‘What?’ he asked and Jim laughed again and stood on his toes to pull him down and kiss him. It was chaste compared to the ones they had been exchanging the night before but it made Ross’ heart pound.

‘That.’ Jim said when he let Ross go, his blue-green eyes sparkling when he look up at Ross. ‘Also I didn’t really get to say thank you for last night.’

‘I didn’t know I needed to be thanked.’ Ross said, his eyes fixing on Jim’s mouth and remembering the noises he’d made in the dark.

‘You do.’ Jim was smiling, dimples deep. ‘I was thinking about how to repay you later.’

‘Get a fucking room.’ Silver said as he came in from the balcony, then stopped. ‘NOT MINE!’ Ross felt mortified and Jim laughed.

‘I’m going to remind you of all the times you and Anne got the room and I had to sleep on the sofa.’ he said. ‘And your little night-time adventures far outnumber mine.’ He took Ross’ hand. ‘Don’t wait up.’ He towed Ross along behind him, out of the unit. When they got to the lift he turned and kissed Ross again, ignoring the cat calls from a couple of swimmers that came out of it. When he let him go, Ross was smiling.

‘No curfew tonight?’ he asked and Jim shook his head.

‘Emma has decided that it would be best for me to get this out of my system before we start officially.’ he said. ‘So you and I need to find an unoccupied flat surface because there is definitely going to be a replay of last night.’

‘Dinner first.’ Ross replied, taking Jim’s hand as they got into the lift. ‘I need to warn you a bit though. The people we’re going to visit are riders and all of my lot will be there as well as some other people from the team. It’s going to be very horsy. ‘

‘That’s okay.’ Jim said. ‘I can ask lots of questions.’

‘Also the language is going to be awful.’ Ross replied. ‘And they’re probably going to ask a ton of inappropriate questions. My family is beyond nosy.’

‘Ross.’ Jim said and Ross realised he’d been rambling. ‘I’ll be fine.’

‘God, I hope so.’ He replied. ‘I really should have done this where it was just us.’

‘Look at it this way.’ Jim replied. ‘If I survive the night we can probably both agree that nothing else is going to scare me off.’

‘True.’ Ross was now smiling back.

They joined the others downstairs and took a taxi into the outlying district of Jardim Botanico where the house was situated and Jim got a crash course in the Poldark family history from the other four. Elizabeth in particular seemed to have made it her duty to warn him of all the possible problems that could come from dating a Poldark. Ross glared at her but she was on a roll and not to be thwarted.

‘They’re very clannish.’ she was saying to Jim and he grinned at Ross. ‘It’s like marrying into the mafia.’

‘Sounds brilliant.’ he replied. ‘Although I think marriage negotiations might be a bit premature.’

‘Just you wait.’ Elizabeth said, giving Ross a look that made him want to strangle her. ‘I didn’t even like Francis when we first met and yet here I am. At least you two can’t stay out of each other’s knickers.’

‘I suppose it’s a good starting point.’ Jim was very obviously trying not to laugh. ‘I must admit I never expected to be meeting the parents this soon.’

‘They’ll love you.’ Verity said, determined to put her two pence in. ‘Ross’ last boyfriend was gorgeous but he was also as thick as two short planks.’

‘Oi!’ Ross swiped at her and she dodged him easily, cackling.

‘Oh really?’ Jim looked at him. ‘Dumb and hung, huh?’

‘God yes.’ Verity said, warming to her subject. ‘Good thing he plays polo rather well and his dad’s richer than all of us put together.’

‘Right.’ Ross declared. ‘That’s enough of that.’ He shoved her gently and she caught his hand and pretended to bite it. Ross withdrew it and shook his head at her. ‘You’re all a bunch of children.’

‘I don’t know.’ Jim said. ‘They’re all incredibly mature compared to the people I’m bunked with.’

‘That’s actually true.’ Demelza said, laughing. ‘I can vouch for that.’ They all looked at her and she grinned. ‘What?’

‘Yeah, actually.’ Ross said. ‘We’re all making noises about what the two of us were up to last night but I notice that you and Flint were very chummy.’

‘He’s hot.’ Demelza said, completely unapologetic. ‘And I owe you not a single explanation, Ross Poldark.’ She punctuated this by leaning over and poking him in the arm. ‘But if you must know we went out clubbing and got back at about four this morning and went to sleep on my bed. We did try to come back to his unit but we walked in just as you were making Jim scream and thought we’d be better off in my bed.’

‘And we’re back around to you.’ Verity pointed out, brown eyes sparkling. Ross hunched down and huffed.

‘I hate you all.’ he said and they laughed at him.

The house they were going to was a grand affair of whitewashed walls, bright pink bougainvillea draping over it. Jim stared as they got out the taxi.

‘Fucking hell.’ he said to Ross quietly. ‘You didn’t tell me I needed to dress up.’ Ross looked a little surprised. He was the first to admit that he sometimes took his upbringing for granted and looked at Jim. Their breakfast conversations had covered the fact that Jim was from Lymington and that his dad had died when he was twelve, leaving his mom to bring him up alone while she ran a pub.

‘They’re nice.’ he said, trying to put him at ease. ‘Trust me, they’re old money. Everything inside is like a hundred years old and it’s been chewed to death by the dogs.’ He took Jim’s hand. ‘Come on.’

They went inside, following the others and he could felt the tension in Jim’s arm, and squeezed his hand reassuringly, a little amused that the normally cocky man next to him seemed intimidated. The foyer of the house was massive, the tiled floors and plain walls contrasting beautifully with the brightly coloured artwork and dark wood furniture. He could hear the voices of Rafael and Carolina as well as his parents and led Jim out through the long living room and to the terrace. They had the barbeque going and were sitting at the table, four dogs of varying breeds lying soaking up the residual heat from the flagstones. They lifted their heads as they all approached and Ross smiled as he saw his mother. Grace didn’t come to practice much, preferring to leave them to it.

They got to the table and Ross smiled.

‘Mom, Dad. This is Jim.’ he said.

**********

He needn’t have worried.

Grace and Joshua took to Jim like ducks to water and he seemed to do the same with them and by the time dinner was over, Jim was part of the group. His lack of equestrian knowledge and his obvious interest in learning had endeared him to everyone there and Ross found that he was actually having to fight to get his attention away from the conversation. His parents and the Gilbraõs turned out to be fascinated by diving and bombarded Jim with questions which he happily answered. In fact, at one point Ross turned to see the other four all grinning like mad at him. Even they could tell it was going well.

After dinner, they had coffee and Joshua turned to Jim.

‘You should come down to watch him train one day.’ he said.

‘I wish I could.’ Jim replied. ‘But this actually my last day of freedom. It’s all in from here until the end of synchros.’

‘You are going to be able to watch him though?’ Grace asked.

‘I don’t think I will.’ Jim said. ‘I have the prelims on the 7th and the semis and finals on the 8th. I’m going to miss it.’ He shrugged. ‘Unfortunately.’

‘But you’re done on the 8th?’ Demelza said, seizing on it like a hound on a rabbit. ‘That means you can come watch Ross do his jumping round with us.’

‘That’s right.’ Grace said, looking delighted. ‘You can come and sit with us in the stands. We have our own section for friends and family.’

‘I’ll have to check with Emma.’ Jim replied, but he was starting to smile. ‘That sounds wonderful though, thank you.’

They finally got ready to go back to the Village at the reasonably modest hour of half past eleven. As everyone was saying goodbye, Grace grabbed Ross and hugged him.

‘I like him.’ she hissed in his ear. ‘Do not let this one get away.’ She pulled back and smiled at him. Ross knew the smile well. It was the one she used when she was particularly pleased.

‘I’ll try not to.’ he replied and she gave him a stern look.

‘I’m serious.’ She said. ‘You know how seldom we’ve actually liked your boyfriends? Normally your taste is terrible but he’s a catch.’

‘Jesus, Mom.’ Ross hissed at her, turning to check Jim hadn’t overheard. ‘It’s the first bloody date.’

‘Well make sure it’s not the last.’ Grace said, kissing him on the cheek. Ross left her and walked down to where everyone was piling into the taxi. Joshua was shaking Jim’s hand and they turned to look at him.

‘All set.’ he said. Jim turned back to Joshua.

‘It was very nice to meet you.’ he said and Joshua nodded.

‘And you.’ he replied. ‘We’ll see you on the 9th.’ He ushered Jim into the taxi and then took a few steps away, taking Ross with him.

‘Don’t.’ Ross said, preempting what he was about to say.

‘He’s nice.’ Joshua said. ‘He’s also bright and personable and able to have a decent conversation. That’s all I am going to say.’

‘You know I just got the same thing from Mom, right?’ Ross said.

‘He’s also an athlete, Ross.’ Joshua replied. ‘He understands the commitment and time needed. Not like the last one that put your training last and his dramatic interludes first.’ He put his hand on Ross’ shoulder. ‘And in case you missed it, he looks at you the way I looked at your mother when I met her. I don’t think he took his eyes off you the entire evening.’ He smiled. ‘This one might be a keeper.’ His words made a warm feeling light up inside Ross and he looked towards the taxi.

‘You think so?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’ Joshua replied. ‘I do.’ He steered Ross back towards the taxi. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Bye.’ Ross got in and went to sit where Jim had made space next to him. Everyone was quiet on the trip back, the combination of food and company and interacting with people having tired them all out. Ross settled into the seat and Jim moved up so he could lean in against him. Ross smiled and lifted his arm for Jim to fit in underneath, his head resting against Ross’ shoulder while he reached for Ross’ hand and interlocked their fingers. The streetlights flashed past, the night getting progressively brighter as they left the leafy suburb and headed back into the main part of Rio.

The taxi dropped them off in the car park and then pulled away with a cheery wave from the driver. Ross lingered towards the back of the group, Jim’s hand still in his. They walked slowly, almost dawdling to put some distance between them and the other four who were chattering away together.

‘That was nice.’ Jim said. ‘You parents are lovely.’

‘They like you.’ Ross replied. They got to the buildings and the pathway they were on fell into shadow. He pulled Jim to a stop and hauled him in until they were standing toe to toe. Jim looked up at him, face just visible in the darkness.

‘What about you?’ he asked, the subtle flirtation adding a teasing edge to his voice. ‘Do you like me?’

For some reason those simple words hit Ross hard. He was glad it was dark and Jim couldn’t really see the expression on his face.

‘More than I should.’ he eventually said. There was a tiny sharp intake of breath and he pressed on, getting the confession out as quickly as possible. ‘More than I want to, to be honest. You’re bad for me.’

‘Why?’ Jim didn’t sound upset, in fact he sounded like he was desperately trying to hold something in.

‘I have things to do.’ Ross replied. ‘Things I want to achieve. I’m at the fucking Olympics, for Christ’s sake, and all I can think about right now is you. Neither of us have time for this.’

‘I know.’ Jim replied, stepping in closer. ‘You’re not the only one thinking about this.’ He raised his hand to Ross’ face, resting the backs of his fingers against Ross’ jaw.  
‘I’m seriously starting to worry.’ Ross said. ‘And I’m wondering about what’s going to happen when we leave here.’

‘It would be difficult.’ Jim said. ‘I’m based in London and you’re in Cornwall. We’re both away all the time for competitions. It would be hard for both of us.’ He took his hand away, but Ross caught it and pulled him in close until they were pressed against each other. He didn’t give Jim a chanced to react, simply leaned down until their mouths collided and kissed him. He placed both hands at the sides of Jim’s neck and licked at his mouth. Jim responded, his tongue flicking back against Ross’ and Ross held him still as he deepened the kiss into something open-mouthed and far more intimate.

‘I don’t care.’ he breathed as they parted for air. ‘I want this. I want you.’ Jim let out a small breath that went right through Ross and grabbed Ross shirt, pulling him back into the kiss and wrapping both arms around his neck so they were completely aligned. Ross could feel Jim was getting hard, as was he. This time they were both breathless when they parted.

‘Fuck.’ Jim’s voice was rough. ‘And I thought I was the bad influence.

‘You are.’ Ross replied chasing Jim’s mouth. ‘Doesn’t stop me from wanting to fuck you.’ He gave in and started kissing down Jim’s neck.

‘We need to go in.’ Jim had his head tilted to give him better access. ‘Find that horizontal surface.’

‘Right now vertical’s looking pretty good to me.’ Ross slid both hands down Jim’s sides to his arse and pulled him in tightly. ‘I could pick you up. Fuck you against the wall. You’re so little I could do it easily.’

‘Fuck you.’ Jim’s laugh was light and breathy. ‘Fuck, that sounds good.’ He was panting, little puffs of air into Ross’ neck. ‘God, I want you.’

‘Okay enough.’ Ross disentangled himself. ‘You said no curfew, right.’

‘No curfew.’ Jim replied, smiling at him.

‘Good, because if we stay I am going to do something horribly out of character.’ Ross said. He took Jim’s hand firmly in his.

They walked back to their block as quickly as they could without flat out running and made it into the lift. Ross got slammed up against the side and then Jim was all over him. He fought back, catching his breath when Jim bit his bottom lip. It only inflamed him further and he barely managed to hit the button for the ninth floor.

‘Your room?’ Jim managed to ask between kisses and Ross hummed assent.

‘Francis can get the fuck out.’ he breathed, hands working their way under Jim’s shirt. Jim laughed and followed him out the lift as the doors opened. They stumbled across to Ross’ unit and in through the door, barely stopping to shut the one to Ross’ bedroom behind them. Thankfully it was empty.

‘Well, it seems your cousin preempted you.’ Jim said as Ross ravaged his neck. ‘Fuck, watch the teeth!’

‘Sorry.’ Ross was breathing hard. ‘It’s your fault really.’ He started undoing the buttons of Jim’s shirt.

‘Yeah well, I can’t have marks all over me when I compete.’ Jim laughed. He stood still as Ross carried on and then shrugged out of it. ‘You got condoms?’

‘Bathroom.’ Ross said. ‘Hang on.’ He turned and then spotted something on the bed, the light from the window reflecting off of it even in the dark. He switched on the bedside lamp and started laughing. There was a pile of official Olympics condoms in the middle of the bed. ‘Idiots.’ It was said with affection. He turned back and looked Jim up and down, his mouth quirking. ‘That’s an awful lot of condoms.’ He moved quickly, getting Jim around the waist and picking him up. He deposited him on the condoms, Jim laughing as they flew in all directions.

‘Which one do you want to use first?’ he asked, watching intently as Ross unbuttoned his shirt and toed off his shoes, then did the same.

‘I’m not planning on using any of them.’ he replied, hopping from one foot to the other as he got rid of his socks, balling them up and chucking them into the open bathroom door. Jim frowned and he grinned as he walked to the bed, kneeling on the edge and leaning over him. ‘Lie down.’

‘What are you doing?’ Jim sounded bemused but then Ross braced himself on both hands over him, leaned down and did what he’d been thinking about since that picture of Jim’s abs had turned up on his phone. He started at the line of Jim’s jeans and dragged his tongue up the smooth skin of Jim’s stomach and over his chest, lifting his head at the last minute to see Jim staring at him, wide-eyed. He raised one hand, thumb resting against Jim’s chin and pulled gently, leaning a little further and slowly licking into Jim’s open mouth. Jim whimpered a little, blond brows knitting together in helpless arousal and Ross did it again. He made it slow and soft and Jim melted underneath his mouth until he could kiss him properly. He lifted off after a few minutes and started to kiss down Jim’s jaw to his neck. Jim moved his head to the side, hands gripping the duvet and panting softly.

‘Please…’ it was a whisper.

‘What do you want?’ Ross kept kissing, alternating with licks along his collar bone.

‘You.’ Jim turned back to look at him, pupils huge. ‘In me.’ Ross smiled and moved down his body. He dragged his tongue over one perfectly pink nipple and listened to Jim moan.

‘Not yet.’ he said. ‘There’s things I want to do first.’ He sat back up and started undoing Jim’s belt and his jeans, tugging them off. Jim was hard, cock straining against the briefs he wore. Ross reached for him, thumb tracing the damp spot that showed where his cock was leaking. ‘Like this in my mouth.’

‘Holy shit.’ Jim was battling to speak coherently. ‘Yes fucking please.’ He lifted his hips so Ross could pull his briefs off and throw them somewhere in the vicinity. He ran both hands down Jim’s thighs, the muscles tensing underneath his hands.

‘You’re fucking beautiful, you know that?’ he said and Jim gave him a gorgeous dimpled smile.

‘You know you don’t have to talk me into bed, right?’ he teased. ‘I’m already here.’ Ross laughed and leaned back down, tonguing the other nipple until Jim started to moan again. He could feel his cock nudging against his stomach and reached between them with one hand to take hold of him. Jim was wet, pre-come running down his skin and Ross stroked him a few times. He was stupidly hard, his own cock pressing almost painfully against his jeans, but he’d been thinking about this for too long to let it go now he had it in reach. He sucked on the nipple in his mouth, and moved his hand down and feeling Jim open his legs for him. He was moaning openly now, every touch of Ross’ tongue and fingers drawing out sounds that were making Ross’ brain short circuit. He managed to make himself stop long enough to get Jim by the hips and pull him down closer to him, manhandling him a little roughly and getting a very enthusiastic verbal response. Then he put one hand on Jim’s abdomen and leaned over him. The lick started at the line between leg and body and ran up over Jim’s hip and travelled along it. Ross took his time, tasting the salt on Jim’s skin and biting the crest of the bone when he felt it under his tongue. Jim was lying still, shivering with anticipation and Ross moved across to the other side and did it again, still taking care to keep away from his cock. Jim’s smell was strong in his nose, and Ross breathed in deeply against his skin. He nosed along until he could let his mouth drift over Jim’s cock, the skin hot and velvety under his lips and he kissed along it until he could trace the line up the underside and flick his tongue against the bottom edge of the corona and Jim bowed off the bed.

‘Fuck.’ It came out harsh. ‘Please…’

It was that single word that undid Ross and he licked up the line his mouth had taken, taking the head in completely when he got there. Jim tasted clean and salty and he sucked gently, feeling the strain of Jim’s muscles as his cock twitched in his mouth. Ross looked up towards him and saw that Jim had his head to the side, eyes closed and mouth open as he panted. Both hands were gripping the top of the mattress, and Ross smiled and took him in deeper, relaxing his throat to get him in all the way until his nose was nestled in the dark gold curls around Jim’s cock. Jim started laughing, and the breathy desperation in it made Ross’ heart skip.

‘Jesus Christ.’ Jim sounded barely able to even speak. ‘I thought I was good at this…where the fuck did you learn how to do that?’ Ross pulled off slowly, using his hand in place of his mouth as he came off.

‘I know a few tricks.’ he replied, feeling unbearably smug. He looked at Jim and found him staring in delighted astonishment right back at him.

‘Do it again.’ Jim said. ‘I want to come like that, in your mouth.’ Ross smiled and complied, the thickness perfect on his tongue as he started a slow deep rhythm. He’d been most fortunate to have learned this particular technique from an obliging older equestrian that he’d had a rather enthralling affair with when he’d first come out. He alternated the deep slow movements with light kitten licks when he came off for air and pretty soon Jim was whining and thrashing around on the bed. Ross resisted the urge to just climb on him and got up long enough to grab the lube from his bag on the floor by the foot of his bed. He’d come fairly prepared and uncapped it long enough to coat the fingers of his right hand before he went back down, reaching in and running his fingers over Jim as he sucked, then pressing two in. The stream of profanity that Jim let out was very encouraging and Ross twisted his finger to find his prostate, hitting it and feeling Jim clench around his fingers. He kept going, the stroking inside and the movement of his mouth on Jim’s cock making Jim start to cry out in a steady burst of sound. He was arching up into Ross’ mouth and Ross felt the tell-tale throb in his cock before Jim convulsed and came hard, the acrid taste filling Ross’ mouth. He swallowed it all, finally coming back up for air, his fingers still inside Jim.

‘Turn over.’ he ordered and pulled them out long enough for Jim to flip over. Jim moaned as Ross leaned in and licked along his spine. His skin was wet with sweat and Ross did it again, one long sweep of his tongue from the small of Jim’s back up along the length of his spine. When he got to Jim’s neck he bit down lightly and Jim twisted, grabbing at Ross to pull him in long enough to kiss. It got wet and messy quickly and Jim finally let him go.

‘Fuck, get in me.’ he demanded, and Ross moved back and reached for one of the condoms. He opened it and put it on, grabbing the lube to reapply before wiping his hand on the duvet and grabbing Jim by the hips. He hoisted him up onto his knees, face still in the pillow, so his backside was in the air. Jim’s breathing was shallow and rapid and he let out a long drawn out moan as Ross started to push in, the lube and arousal making Jim’s body open up easily to accept him. He thrust in slowly, getting taken in inch by inch until they were flush against each other.

Ross stilled, running both hands down Jim’s back, the skin slick with sweat, until he could rest one over the kingfisher and move the other back to grip at Jim’s hip, digging his fingers in hard enough to bruise. Underneath him, Jim had his head forward, resting his weight on his elbows and shivering as Ross shifted position. He steadied himself on his knees, easing out halfway and thrusting back in. he watched, fascinated by the sight of his cock disappearing inside Jim.

‘Fuck…’ Jim’s words were almost lost in the bed. ‘Harder.’

Ross bought his other hand down, taking hold of Jim’s other hip as he pulled out almost completely and then slammed back in with a powerful drive of his hips. It made Jim cry out and bear down around him and Ross did it again, setting up a rhythm that had Jim moving up the bed. He braced himself to provide a counter leverage and pushed back onto Ross, his moans getting strident and demanding as they moved together.

Ross held on and let Jim buck back against him, the tightness around him and the feel of Jim’s body taking him up and up quickly, until he fell forward, one arm around Jim’s waist to hold him stead as he nosed at the side of Jim’s face. Jim turned his head, their mouths meeting in a frantic dance of tongues and clash of teeth. He opened his eyes and saw Jim looking back at him when they came up for air, and the closeness sent all sorts of feelings flooding through Ross.

‘One week.’ Jim breathed. ‘One fucking week and I think I might already be falling in love with you.’ He made a soft keening sound as Ross retaliated by driving in hard. ‘You’re a wanker, you know that?’ Overcome and not really able to reply to what he’d just heard, Ross held onto him and didn’t allow him to look away. They came like that, within seconds of each other and locked in each other’s eyes until it got too much and Ross dropped his head to rest against Jim’s shoulder.

‘We can’t.’ he whispered. ‘Emma will castrate both of us. And I quite like my balls thank you.’

‘Won’t it make it easier to go over jumps though?’ There was a happy lilt in Jim’s voice and it made Ross smile against his skin.

‘There’s always a silver lining with you, isn’t there?’ he said and Jim’s body shook with silent laughter. It had the interesting side effect of making him clench around Ross and Ross gasped, then decided it was a good idea to remove himself which he did, easing out and falling over onto his back as best he could on the narrow bed. Unfortunately it was only once he was down that he realised that he’d managed to get the bit of duvet that Jim had come on. ‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’ Jim was now laughing in earnest, sitting up and coming to straddle him, making himself comfortable. Even in the dim light, Ross could see the mischief in his eyes.

‘So what do you think?’ he asked, and there was a hint of seriousness underneath. ‘You think that we could make it work?’

‘Us?’ Ross breathed in deeply. ‘We could try.’

‘I like that idea.’ Jim replied. ‘I like the sound of try.’ He moved to lie draped over Ross, fitting their legs together in a comfortable tangle and laying his head on Ross’ chest. Ross kissed the top of his head and smiled at the thought of calling Jim his boyfriend.

It had a very nice ring to it.


	7. Horse Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Opening Ceremony and Day One :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so dressage is an absolute epic to write but I hope you all enjoy it.

The following five days passed in a blur and they barely saw each other apart from the morning and the occasional quickly stolen kiss if Ross was still awake when Jim got back from the pool. More often than not he was asleep and woke to post-its on his door and near pornographic messages on his phone, and in one or two instances actual pornography on his phone in the form of a video of Jim jerking off in his bathroom. It had made Ross go scarlet, his face heating up and his cock getting hard before he was forced to abandon bed for the bathroom to do the same.

The 5th arrived and preparations for the opening ceremony had gone into overdrive. Ross was sitting it out, much to Jim’s dismay.

‘But why?’ he said at breakfast. Ross, already feeling horribly pent up in anticipation of the dressage the following day, gave him a look.

‘I need to sleep tonight and chill and not get worked up.’ he said. ‘Tomorrow’s my worst event and I don’t want to fuck anything up.’ He sighed and shoved his cereal around his bowl. ‘I’ll be a mess otherwise and the nerves are bad enough as it is.’ He pushed his bowl away and ran both hands through his mass of curls. ‘Fuck.’

‘Jesus.’ Jim had one eye brow raised at him. ‘You _are_ a fucking mess.’ He huffed. ‘I wish I could skip training and drag you to the beach. I think a day in the sun is what you need.’ He took Ross’ hand, tugging on his fingers. ‘You could always come hang out at the pool.’

‘No.’ Ross sighed. ‘I need to go to the centre and go over everything and be there when the vet check is done.’ He got up and came around the table to kiss Jim. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘All right.’ Jim watched him go, a thoughtful look stealing over his face. Then he took out his phone and texted Emma. The reply he got was full of profanity and Jim grinned. He texted back and got a curt response but it was the response he wanted.

‘Hey.’ He looked up and saw Silver sit down opposite him with his breakfast which was the same as Jim’s. ‘How’s he doing?’ He nodded in the direction of Ross’ retreating back.

‘Stressed.’ Jim peeled the lid off his yogurt and stuck his spoon in it. ‘Can’t say I blame him.’ He looked at Silver and Silver’s face changed.

‘What?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

‘I have a favour I need to ask.’ Jim said.

‘Fuck. Does this happen to have anything to do with Mr Tall Dark and Equestrian?’ Silver asked, shovelling baked beans into his mouth.

‘Yes.’ Jim replied. ‘He said he’s not going tonight. We need to change his mind.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ Silver shook his head. ‘Do you ever take a day off trying to fuck up our schedule?’

‘Not if I can help it.’ Jim said and ginned.

**********

Ross sat on a feed bin in the GB tack room and scratched in his notebook as he ran through his dressage routine. It was short, only five minutes, and would take place after the first veterinary inspection that had been done at eight that morning cleared the horses to compete. The four riders from Team GB would be split up over two days, with himself and Will competing on the first day and Pippa and Kitty on the second day. They were with him, inspecting tack and kit before leaving everything for their grooms and for themselves to get changed into. The tack room was large and had a changing room at the end with a shower and lockers.

‘That was a good inspection this morning.’ Pippa was saying as she and Kitty finished what they were doing and left the room. Ross contemplated what they had said. It was true though and Enys’ team had done a sterling job in making sure every horse was fit and well. Bathsheba had sailed through her check as Ross had known she would. He sighed and went back to the beginning of his routine in his head. His dressage round would be first, having been drawn that morning and then decided amongst the rest of the team and himself. He preferred to go first, feeling like it was better to set a standard than catch up to it.

His phone vibrated and he looked at it, smiling at the photo of the pool that Jim had sent. It was crowded with divers and trainers and the next one was of the locker rooms inside where the divers changed and rested between dives. Silver was sitting on a plastic pool chair, giving the camera the thumbs up and the next picture was a selfie of the two of them.

He sent two back, one of his feet hanging off the feed bin and another of the sheet of paper with the programme in his note book. Will saw what he was doing and came over.

‘That him?’ he asked and Ross nodded. ‘Here.’ Will held out his hand for the phone and took a picture of Ross sitting on the feed bin and then handed it back.

‘Thanks.’ Ross said as he sent it and Will smiled and patted him on the knee.

‘You’re going to be fine.’ he said. ‘I was shitting myself my first Olympics but then I got into the ring and it was like any other comp.’ He picked up Chilli’s bridle and walked off and Ross went back to his piece of paper. As far as the elements went, they were nowhere near as challenging as those that Demelza and Merlin would perform, but they still gave Ross cause to worry. Bathsheba hated dressage, rebelling against the collected forms. Her naturally independent nature made her submission faulty at the best of times and she often looked like she was fighting him. It had taken a massive amount of dedication and work to bring her up to an international level. The best Ross could do was hope that they put in a decent showing and then flew through the cross country and jumping which was where she really shone.

The afternoon dragged along, and five hours later Ross was in Bathsheba’s stable while he groomed her, both to soothe himself and her if he was being honest. Tomorrow morning she would be washed and groomed again, her mane plaited and rolled and her tail pulled at the top and braided for a smooth line. Her tack was polished to a high shine, the black leather of the double bridle and saddle with its buckled girth all waiting in the tack room along with the snowy white quilted saddle cloth with the Union flag embroidered in the back bottom corners. Prudie was doing the last bits of cleaning, scrubbing the bits and getting his cross country gear ready for the following day.

Bathsheba had her ears at half-mast and her head lowered as she dozed. Ross worked the body brush over her coat, bending to brush the dust from her fetlocks one by one and then swapping out for the hoof pick. He ran one hand down her front leg and leaned in a little and Bathsheba obediently lifted her foot for him to clean her hoof.

‘Ross.’ He looked up and saw Prudie looking in, her pink and white face flushed from the heat and humidity and her brown hair tied in a bun on top of her head. ‘There’s someone here for you.’

‘Who?’ He straightened up and frowned. Prudie had her beaming smile in place that immediately alerted him. She disappeared from the door and the next head that appeared was blond.

‘Hi.’ Jim leaned both arms on the half door and smiled brilliantly at him.

‘What are you doing here?’ Ross was both surprised and delighted. ‘I thought you were training?’

‘I got off an hour early.’ Jim said. ‘And I’m training all day tomorrow before the prelims on Sunday so…’ He looked at Bathsheba, who now had her ears pricked and head up as she looked at the new person in interest. ‘God, she’s much bigger than she looks in the photos you showed me.’ He held out a hand and Bathsheba moved forward, prompting Ross to scramble around her. She had a habit of biting stranger and he was just about to make a grab for her headcollar when he noticed the she was being rather out of character. Jim smiled as she lowered her muzzle into his hand, the white whiskers tickling his palm and making him laugh. ‘She has a pink nose.’

‘And a terrible disposition.’ Ross replied coming to stand alongside her and watching in amazement as she let Jim run his hand up the white blaze on her face.

‘She doesn’t seem so fierce.’ Jim looked somewhat smitten. ‘She’s gorgeous, Ross.’ He was now completely enraptured, his other hand moving to scratch her under the jaw. ‘Such a pretty girl.’ Bathsheba seemed very pleased with the compliments and nudged him in the chest.

‘Here.’ Ross said. He dug his roll of Polos out of his pocket and reached for Jim’s hand, emptying three onto his palm. ‘Put your hand flat and let her take them.’ Jim did as instructed and Bathsheba hoovered the sweets off his palm and crunched them loudly. ‘Now she associates you with sugar, she’ll be your friend for life. Maybe.’ He moved to the door. ‘Back up.’

Jim moved out the way for Ross to open the door and lead Bathsheba out so Jim could get a better look at her. He stared up at the tall mare, now out her confines and able to get a good look at her graceful lines. He patted her shoulder and stroked along her long neck and she swung her head around to butt him in the hip.

‘Oh my God, you’re letting him touch her?’ Demelza screeched as she came around the corner, running over to save Jim but then stopping dead as she realised that he wasn’t being eaten alive.

‘It’s fine.’ Jim replied. He was back at Bathsheba’s head, stroking her nose and face. ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about?’

‘The fuss is that this is the horse that gave me this.’ Demelza said, lifting her shirt sleeve up her arm and showing off a faint scar. ‘I needed stitches. And now here she is being an absolute lamb with you.’

‘I think it’s a case of being blithely uninformed.’ Ross said, laughing at the shock on her face.

They put Bathsheba back in her stall and then Demelza took Jim around the other side of the building to meet Merlin. Merlin was a giant softy, even taller than Bathsheba but an absolute teddy bear of a horse that was so affectionate he almost knocked Jim over.

‘He’s such a love.’ Demelza cooed to him as she stroked his face. ‘He’s definitely a lover and not a fighter.’

‘He’s like a tank.’ Jim was looking at the width of Merlin’s shoulders.

‘He’s an Andalusian and a stallion so he’s very robust.’ Demelza said proudly. ‘He’s got a wonderful stride.’

‘You know that means nothing to me, right?’ Jim laughed. ‘Flint said you’re competing on the 10th?’

‘I am.’ Demelza replied. ‘The team event is first and then individuals. I know the 3m synchros are on the 10th but maybe the individuals?’

‘Flint’s working on Emma.’ Jim laughed. ‘She’s about ready to murder the lot of us. But we will see you tonight, won’t we?’

‘Oh, definitely.’ Demelza said. ‘All of us are going to be in the parade except for Mr Grumpy Pants here.’

‘Even the other eventers?’ Jim looked at him and Ross groaned inwardly. He’d intimated that they were all sitting out.

‘Yeah.’ She was now looking at Ross and grinning as she realised what he’d done. ‘Did this wanker tell you they were staying behind? Not a fucking chance. Pippa and Kitty and me and Vee are all hysterical about going. We all painted our toenails blue, white and red last night.’

‘Nobody’s going to see them.’ Ross grumbled.

‘Not the point.’ Demelza retorted. ‘And I think you should come with us. It’s going to be finished by eleven and you can go back and go to bed and the rest of us can go out.’

‘That’s not going to happen.’ Ross said firmly. ‘I am staying in.’ Jim and Demelza looked at each other and she led Merlin back to his stable. Jim moved towards him, hands in his pockets and a look of innocence on his face that Ross was immediately suspicious of. ‘And I don’t care what you two have cooked up for me either. I am not going.’

‘Fair enough.’ Jim said. ‘So am I going to get the rest of the grand tour?’

Ross led him around, showing him the arena and the other horses that were in. They stopped briefly to wave hello and chat with Verity, who was doing jumps in one of the auxiliary arenas and finally they ended up back at the stables.

‘So this is where we keep everything.’ Ross said as he led Jim into the tack room. He turned when there was only silence behind him and saw Jim leaning against the closed door with a very different look on his face.

‘That.’ he said to Ross, indicating the black breeches and knee high riding boots Ross was wearing with an old band t-shirt.

‘What about it?’ Ross was confused. It was his normal training gear and he was dusty and covered in horse hair and not looking his best. Jim, however, seemed to not be noticing this. He walked over to Ross, one hand to his chest as he pushed him up against the wall. Ross was so surprised he simply let it happen and then Jim looked up at him and gave him a smile that was bordering on filthy.

‘It’s fucking hot.’ he said. ‘Those fucking boots are doing things to me that should be illegal.’

‘Really?’ Ross was bemused. ‘I guess I’m just kind of used to it.’ Jim crowded him against the wall and his hands were now on the waistband of his breeches. Ross caught them and lifted them away.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked and Jim laughed and leaned up, lips brushing teasingly over his.

‘Finding out just what I would have to do to get you go tonight?’ he said and Ross felt his knees go weak at the heat in Jim’s eyes. He let his wrists go almost against his will and rested his arms on Jim’s shoulders, hands cupping the sides of his neck.

‘Christ.’ he said, his voice dropping as arousal started to scratch at him. ‘You came all the way over here just to seduce me into going to the opening ceremony?’

‘I’m very determined.’ Jim replied and his hands were back on Ross’ breeches. He unclipped the catch and then insinuated his hands under Ross’ t-shirt. ‘And I’m betting that I can do it.’

‘How exactly?’ Ross could feel his heart speeding up, his breathing already coming shorter as his cock hardened under the light strokes of Jim’s hands over his stomach and across his flanks.

‘Like this.’ Jim replied and sank gracefully to his knees and all Ross’ blood did a quick evacuation from his brain and headed south.

‘Oh, Jesus…’ He could barely breathe as Jim deftly unzipped his breeches and tugged them down. ‘You know that door’s unlocked?’

‘Yeah.’ Jim had one hand down the front of his pants and he pulled Ross’ cock out. ‘But I don’t give a fuck.’ He smiled and gave Ross a few hard strokes. ‘God, I love your cock.’ Then he leaned in and took it in his mouth and Ross was lost.

‘Bloody hell…’ he moaned, his head tipping back against the wall as Jim went to work, sucking expertly and working the base with one hand. He reached for him, one hand guiding his head and the other on Jim’s shoulder. ‘Why am I not surprised you’re this good at this?’ Down below him, Jim laughed, the vibrations going straight through Ross’ cock. He moaned aloud, his hips making tiny instinctive thrusts into Jim’s mouth. Jim put one hand on Ross’ hip and shoved him back, Ross’ cock sliding out of his mouth as he looked up at him. It was so ridiculously hot that Ross felt his whole body jerk as the head of his cock slipped from Jim’s mouth.

‘So are you going to come with me?’ he asked, his voice a little rough. He went back to stroking Ross’ cock, then licked over the head like a cat. The little flick of tongue knocked a strangled noise out of Ross’ throat, and he felt all and any resistance he had rapidly evaporating.

‘Maybe.’ he replied, desperately trying to bluff his way out of it.

‘Not what I want to hear.’ Jim’s smile was wicked and he took him in again, head moving down steadily until he had all of Ross in his mouth.

‘Oh God…’ Ross let out a desperate little laugh. ‘Okay, yes. I’ll fucking come tonight.’ He could feel nothing, focus on nothing but the glorious velvety warmth of Jim’s mouth. Jim made an approving noise and then started sucking hard, head moving in a steady up and down rhythm that had Ross almost howling in minutes. He felt the tightening in his balls and tugged ineffectually at Jim’s shirt, but Jim was on a mission and kept going until Ross came with a yell, doubling over him as the rush of heat surged through him and almost knocked him out.

Jim swallowed around him, throat working as he pulled off and then licked Ross clean. He looked up, smile dazzling and completely smug.

‘Now you agreed.’ he said. ‘You can’t go back on it.’

‘I won’t.’ Ross was trying to breathe enough to speak, but he still sounded like he was dying a little. He watched Jim tuck him back in and refasten his breeches and then helped him to his feet. ‘What about you?’

‘I’m good.’ Jim said, moving in close and kissing him. Ross let his tongue tangle with Jim’s, the taste of himself strong in Jim’s mouth.

‘No.’ he said when they parted. ‘I always repay my debts.’ He got hold of Jim and whirled him around, slamming him up against the wall. It knocked the air out of Jim and made his pupils flicker as they rapidly dilated. Ross gave him no room to protest, desire overtaking him even though he was still shaking from his own orgasm. He got hold of Jim’s jeans, feeling how hard he was underneath them, and popped the buttons one by one until he could do the same and take Jim out. He was about to get to his knees when Jim grabbed his wrist.

‘Just do it.’ he panted. ‘Fuck…’ He moaned, sounding almost pained as Ross took hold of him and started moving his hand. Ross watched him, hypnotised by the way his eyes closed and his mouth opened to let out those beautiful soft sounds. He slowed his hand, twisting his wrist and thumbing over the head, the slipperiness easing the way. He leaned in, breathing in the smell of Jim’s skin as he pressed his face to Jim’s neck and licking over his rapidly beating pulse.

It didn’t take long, both of them panting as Ross took him up. He felt Jim’s cock throb in his hand and then he was coming, his semen a warm wetness on Ross’ skin. Ross took him through it, licking into Jim’s open mouth until he stopped shuddering and collapsed against him, hands holding onto Ross’ shirt.

‘Good?’ he asked and Jim laughed.

‘Fucking good.’ he replied. His eyes were open, barely focusing as he looked Ross. Then the wicked smile was back as he reached for Ross’ hand and lifted it to his mouth, slowly licking it clean. Ross stared at him, all his late night fantasies coalescing into reality right in front of him.

‘You are the worst and the best thing that has ever happened to me.’ he said and Jim laughed even louder.

‘And we’re just getting started.’ he replied.

**********

Four hours later, Ross found himself backstage at the opening ceremony dressed in an outfit that comprised of white shorts, white polo shirt, white trainers and a white sweatshirt. It was all trimmed with gold and he glared at Jim who was standing next to him. True to form Jim looked unbelievably hot in it, the metallic accents matching his hair. Ross, however, felt stupid.

‘This is probably the worst thing I have ever had to wear.’ he grumbled.

‘You look fine.’ Jim replied. ‘You look good.’ He smiled at Ross, all bright white teeth and dimples. ‘And we’re going to go out there and have fun.’

‘Fun, my arse.’ Ross muttered. ‘You conned me.’

‘I did no such thing.’ Jim retorted. ‘I barely had to suck you off to get you to agree.’

‘Fuck, Jim!’ Ross hissed at him. ‘Shut up!’ Jim snickered, completely unrepentant. They both watched Andy Murray walk past them with the British flag.

‘Looks like it’s time to go.’ he said.

The parade took the on a single lap of the stadium. Everyone had been watching the festivities on the big screens set up for them backstage and there was a carnival atmosphere that was contagious as they walked out into the warm Brazilian night. Ross heard the sounds of people and cheers and music and something happened inside him and all his bad temper disappeared. The diving team and the equestrians had joined forces and Demelza turned back and squealed at him, her blues eyes sparkling happily as he bounced alongside Flint and Gunn. Silver was on Jim’s other side and Francis, Elizabeth and Verity were on Ross’ right.

They walked, waving to the people in the stands, and by the time they got back to the entrance to the stands, Ross was smiling and completely caught up in the party that was going on around him. He felt better than he ever had and as he turned his head and looked at the young man laughing and smiling back at him he knew that it was all because of him.

He waited, mostly because he felt like he wasn’t quite ready to do it in front of millions of people, but once they were inside and away from the television cameras and photographers he caught Jim by the hand and pulled him in to kiss.

‘This was a good idea.’ he said and Jim smiled at him.

‘My ideas are always good.’ he replied.

**********

The next morning dawned clear and warm but not as hot as Ross thought it would be. He stretched and turned, careful not to jostle the sleeping figure in the bed next to him. Jim was pressed up against the wall, head on his arm and the other draped across Ross’ body.

He hadn’t expected the night to take the turn it had. There had been no sex after the ceremony, just the two of them retreating to Ross’ room. The other equestrians who weren’t competing and the other two divers had headed off into the night, clubs beckoning with promises of alcohol and neon.

He’d been starting to feel the stress and tension returning and had been very pleasantly surprised when Jim had shoved him onto the bed and pulled his shirt off. Ross had expected to be pounced on and instead found himself being flipped over onto his stomach where he proceeded to lie and make very sexual sounding noises as Jim worked all the knots out of his back. Afterwards, when Ross was nothing but a big happy pile of relaxation, they had curled up together and fallen asleep. It had felt like the most natural thing in the world.

‘Ross?’ Jim’s voice was sleep rough. ‘You going?’

‘Yeah.’ he replied, getting up and scouting around for his towel. ‘The shuttle will be leaving at 7:45 and I need to go have breakfast.’ He found it and then went back to the bed, leaning down to kiss Jim. ‘But you can stay until you need to. Francis is probably going to need to sleep it off in Liz’s bed.’

‘Okay.’ Jim gave him a lazy smile and pulled the duvet back over him.

Ross went to shower. When he came out Jim was awake again and sitting up, the duvet piled around his waist. He watched Ross get dressed and then collect his suit carrier and boot carrier and hat bag.

‘Wait.’ he said and Ross hesitated as he was about to pick everything up from where he’d dumped it on the foot of the bed. ‘Don’t forget this.’ He reached over to the bedside table and picked up the friendship bracelet. Ross smiled and came to sit next to him, extending his arm so Jim would tie it around his wrist.

‘You’re going to be fucking epic today.’ Jim said. ‘I can feel it.’ Ross chuckled and kissed him.

‘Thank you.’ he replied. ‘I certainly hope so.’ His mobile beeped and he stood up. ‘I have to go.’

‘Good luck, baby.’ Jim was already lying down again, succumbing to sleep.

Ross smiled like an idiot at the endearment and left the room.

*********

The equestrian centre was a hive of activity when Ross disembarked from the shuttle at a little after eight and headed to his part of the yard. Dwight and Joshua were already there when he arrived and Joshua came over and gave him a quick hug.

‘All ready?’ he asked and Ross nodded, handing off his carriers to Cleo who had come running over.

‘Yeah.’ he replied and Joshua gave him a penetrating look.

‘You seem different.’ he said. ‘You’re usually chewing your finger nails off by now. What did you do?’

‘Nothing.’ Ross protested, shifting the conversation as Enys came over. ‘How is she?’

‘Raring to go.’ Enys said. ‘The event presentation is in an hour and then you’re on at ten-forty.’

‘It’s a good draw.’ Joshua said. ‘Not too hot by that time.’

‘And I’m on at 10:20 on Monday.’ Ross said. ‘I’m pleased with the draw.’

‘Mmm.’ Joshua nodded as they walked over to where Bathsheba was standing. Prudie had already shampooed her and her blaze and four socks were a brilliant white in contrast with her coal-black coat. She looked strangely bald, her thick mane separated into plaits and then the plaits rolled and secured in a neat line alone the crest of her neck. Her tail was still bandaged to keep the braided hair at the top flat and she swished it as he approached, her own pre-competition excitement translating into nerves. Prudie was kneeling, sponging off her legs with water to keep them cool.

‘Ready when you are, Dwight.’ she said and Enys nodded to Ross.

‘Go get changed.’ He said. ‘She’ll be ready for you when I’ve looked her over.’

Ross did as he said and headed for the tack room. He found that Cleo had set his things down in front of his locker and his suit carrier was hanging up waiting for him. Ross stripped off his clothes and got dressed. His dressage kit was not dissimilar to his jumping kit, with the shape of the jacket and boots being the main variations. His breeches for this event were snowy white, as was his shirt and tie. The shirt went on first, tucked into his briefs to get a perfectly smooth line, and then the breeches and his belt, black leather to match his boots. He went over to the full length mirror they had hanging up on the wall and tied his tie in a perfect Windsor knot. Next were his socks and the mirror-shine dressage boots, pulled on and stomped in a few times to settle them properly. The final touch was his jacket, a navy cut-away tail coat with the distinctive red collar and pocket and waistcoat accents, a double row of brilliantly polished brass buttons down the front. He glanced down at the friendship bracelet on his wrist and was about to take if off, then changed his mind at the last minute and left it on. He tugged his cuff down to cover it and took one final look in the mirror. Satisfied with his appearance, he unzipped his bag carrier and took out his riding helmet. Unlike other competitors he preferred the added safety, a leftover from his fall, and so it was the official issue safety-helmet, the blue and red stripes over the crown indicating his nationality. He brushed his hair back and then ran some product through it to make sure his curls didn’t get too flyaway and then picked up his helmet and white gloves and headed out.

Bathsheba was tacked up and waiting for him when he got to her, and she looked magnificent. Her tack gleamed, every bit of metal from the Weymouth bit to the rings on her breast-strap and stirrups was polished to brilliance. She nickered at him as he approached and Ross smiled. She knew she was about to go out and perform, and she was also aware that once this was done she would get to do her favourite thing and go for a long run to work the kinks out of her legs.

‘Remember your form.’ Joshua said to him, standing aside from where he’d been giving Bathsheba a careful once-over. ‘Good luck, lad.’

Ross nodded to him and went to Bathsheba’s side, handing Prudie his gloves and helmet, then checking the girth himself and running his hands down her legs. Once he was done, he took his helmet back from Prudie and put it on then held the stirrup out and put his left foot in it, using the saddle to give himself enough leverage to mount up easily. He settled into the saddle, shifting to check everything was secure and then picked up the reins and turned Bathsheba around. Prudie walked alongside, his gloves in her pocket to keep them clean until he was ready to go in and complete. She grinned up at him and he smiled back. Her relentless cheerfulness was one of the reasons he valued her so much. Bathsheba went quietly, tail swishing as she walked. The dressage arena was set up within the main arena and there was a warm up arena behind it where riders could take their horses around to loosen their muscles and calm their nerves. Ross was sixth in the line-up which meant he had a fair bit of time to let Bathsheba settle in. The ceremony to start the event was complete when he got to the back warm-up area and he saw the other competitors taking their horses through a series of warm-ups. The first competitor, a rider from Canada who had drawn first place, was already waiting to be allowed in to the arena.

Ross rode Bathsheba into the warm-up arena. There was only a forty minute gap between the Canadian rider and himself and he set Bathsheba to walking out around the warm-up area to loosen her up, reins loose and her head down. He heard the ripple of polite applause that signalled the Canadian’s arrival in the ring and on the next lap nudged Bathsheba into a trot. He let her go at a medium trot for one lap, then switched her into a collected trot, feeling her muscles bunch and flex underneath him. His body could read hers perfectly, their long partnership allowing him complete familiarity with her. Under her ear hood, Bathsheba’s ears flicked backwards and forwards, alert and tracking everything around her.

The time passed quickly and the next time Ross looked up he saw Joshua calling him over. He was standing with Prudie at the fence and Ross rode Bathsheba over to them, taking his gloves from Prudie and tugging them on as he rode out and towards the competition arena. He got to the boundary fences and stopped, waiting for the steward in front of him to give him the signal to go and then urging Bathsheba forward. He passed Genia Ovchinnikova as he trotted in and she flashed him a quick smile. He returned it and then he was out of the shadows cast by the stands and onto the sunshine.

He rode Bathsheba out at a medium trot to the halfway marker of the internal line of fences that demarcated the dressage arena and pulled her to a stop just shy of the first judges’ hut on the opposite side, listening to the announcer calling his name and Bathsheba’s out. He waited a few seconds and then nudged her with his heels again and Bathsheba took off, moving around the bottom of the arena until he was in line with the judges’ hut and then he stopped and waited as they did their first inspection of them. Bathsheba snorted impatiently and Ross smiled, feeling the adrenaline starting to pump. He took a deep breath and waited for the signal to continue.

*********

‘So it’s like horses dancing?’ Silver was peering over Jim’s shoulder. They were in the stands, Emma having given them a half hour break so Jim could stream Ross’ round on his tablet. They were now both sitting in their tracksuits together, munching on protein bars and watching the feed. They had also managed to attract a small crowd of other divers, all curious as to what Jim was watching. Emma was seated a few rows above them, reading and ignoring their chatter.

‘Kind of.’ Jim was staring at the screen, absolutely rapt. He was knocked out by how handsome Ross looked, long legs looking even longer in the pristine white breeches and shiny black boots, the long stirrup leathers allowing for an extended line that accentuated them perfectly. ‘The rules are really complicated and I have no idea what any of the steps are called.’

‘Interesting.’ Silver was grinning at him. ‘I have to say your new boyfriend really cleans up nicely though.’

‘Doesn’t he just?’ Jim sighed happily and settled in to watch.

**********

The signal came from the judges and Ross continued to trot Bathsheba around to the place he’d first stopped, passing the other two huts at the top, and then waited for the bell that would signal the beginning of his round.

It rang and Ross took a deep breath and gave Bathsheba one last pat on her sleek neck. He gathered the reins and let her take a couple of steps before kicking her into a collected canter, the required gait to enter the ring. He rode easily, back straight and shoulders set, and Bathsheba tucked her nose in and lifted her feet beautifully. At the bottom of the arena, two stewards had removed the parts of the fence that would create the entrance and exit and Ross guided her through the space and inside in a straight line. They rode down the centre to just past the halfway point and stopped. Ross lowered his right hand and nodded once, a short sharp salute to the judges in front of him. He waited for their signal and then collected the reins once more.

The first movement was to his left, a collected trot along the top part of the inside of the fencing, shifting smoothly into an extended trot as they moved down the length of the arena before turning to cross diagonally over the centre line to the other side and to the end of the fencing where they shifted back into a collected trot as Bathsheba turned to the right once more and Ross took them down the centre line again, shifting his weight and using his heels to guide her into another diagonal movement to the top right corner. They came past the judges’ huts at the top and turned into the corner with the fence again on their right hand side and back into the extended trot, Bathsheba flicking her front hooves sharply out in front of her as she executed the stride.

Ross brought her around back into the collected trot and up the midline once more, wincing inwardly as she bridled a little, turning her head away from the centre line and pulling against his hands. He knew this frustrated her, the collection making her antsy. He started the diagonal drift into the left hand corner and she went, but not without an angry flick of her ears. The turn at the corner was now back in towards the centre and then they slowed to a walk to the opposite corner and then a direct diagonal across the arena to the midline point, still at the same pace. Bathsheba went easily into the side line, her head level and her muscles working smoothly. A few strides after they passed the midline, Ross collected her again and sharp kick sent her into the first collected canter sequence, swinging her around in a half circle back towards the judges.

Bathsheba was now doing her usual little snorts, getting into the swing of things. She moved easily into the diagonal canter across and up the mid line and then into the turn to the far corner. The nest section was tricky, a flying change executed as Ross rode her back around in a s-shaped curve, first to the left and then to the right and back up again to the top of the arena. Then is was repeated but in the opposite direction to the bottom and then another turn to the right and up the far side. Ross lengthened the rein and let Bathsheba throw herself into the extended canter, her long body stretching out beautifully until they reached the top corner and he collected her in. She fought him a little and he gritted his teeth, knowing he would lose marks for that, but finally settled and came back in. There was another set of curves and the second flying change, and this one was much smoother than the first one had been. The last two flying changes were executed as the came back down the arena in two diagonal stretches still at the collected canter before making the final turn up the mid line and stopping in front of the judges’ hut where they had started.

Ross let out a deep breath and lowered his hand once again, hearing the cheering go up. He looked towards the stand and saw a few people on their feet and the giant Union flag they were waving at him and waved back. He hadn’t looked for them at the beginning but now he saw them all – Grace, Demelza, Francis, Elizabeth and Verity all wearing red t-shirts with the Union flag on the front and TEAM POLDARK written on the back. They all had them, the names changed out depending on who they were cheering for. He waved towards them and then leaned forward, slapping Bathsheba on the neck and feeling giddy with anticipation as he listened for his scores. There was the final call of their names and he let the reins loose and Bathsheba lowered her head, ears going horizontal as she relaxed.

Joshua and Prudie were waiting for him at the side, smiling and clapping him in.

‘Good job, lad.’ Joshua said as Prudie took the reins. They all turned towards the arena as the score came and Ross broke out into a brilliant smile.

‘Fifty-point one.’ he said. ‘Fucking get in!’

‘Good Lord.’ Joshua was beaming. ‘That’s your personal best.’

‘I know.’ Ross leaned forward, rubbing Bathsheba’s neck. ‘Oh you clever clever girl!’

He rode her back in and jumped off and Prudie grabbed him and squeezed the life out of him.

‘Whatever the fuck you did last night, you have to keep doing it.’ She squealed. ‘That was fucking ace!’ Ross smiled and pulled up his sleeve to show her the friendship bracelet.

‘I think I may have had some help.’ he said.

********

‘Is that good?’ Silver asked. Jim took his fingers out of his mouth where he’d been gnawing on his nails.

‘I haven’t got a clue.’ he answered. ‘But I think I have just discovered a new kink.’ Behind them, Emma snorted loudly behind her magazine.

‘What is that now? Number three hundred?’ she asked, her Australian accent making the sarcasm absolutely scathing.

Jim and Silver looked at each other and then burst out laughing.


	8. Prelims

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Ross to see Jim in action.

The 7th was the day of the 10m platform synchronised diving preliminaries. Jim had explained how they would complete six dives and then the top eighteen scorers would be sent through to the semis to be again whittled down to twelve for the finals. They were sitting on Jim’s bed, Ross with his back against the wall and Jim lying down with his head in Ross’ lap while he showed him the previous Olympics. Ross watched as Jim explained the tariffs and levels of difficulty for each dive and Ross smiled as he tried not to think about how cute a nineteen year old Jim was.

‘Shit, this one was awful.’ Jim said as he and Silver appeared on the screen of his tablet. ‘I fucked it up so badly.’ He visibly winced as they took the dive and his feet kicked up a much larger splash than Silver’s did. ‘See that? That’s because my legs weren’t straight. Stupid.’ He sighed and shifted and reached back. Ross smiled and took the offered hand, playing with Jim’s fingers.

‘I’m actually really looking forward to seeing it.’ he said and Jim laughed.

‘Yeah? I’m not. Fuck.’ He crossed his ankles and looked back up at Ross. ‘I am glad you’re coming to watch though.’

‘That’s what rest days are for.’ Ross said. ‘Besides, it’ll do me good to just forget about Monday for a bit.’ He ran his fingers through Jim’s hair. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting your mom.’

‘And she’s looking forward to meeting you.’ Jim replied. They looked up as the door opened and Emma stuck her head in.

‘Lights out chook.’ she said. ‘You need to get all your sleep tonight and I’ve already had to wake John up from sleeping on the sofa.’

‘All right.’ Jim replied. She gave them both a smile and closed the door and he sat up, putting his tablet to one side. ‘I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Good luck.’ Ross said and kissed him, fighting the urge to pin Jim back down on the bed when Jim all but melted in his arms.

‘Night.’ Jim said when they separated and Ross sighed and disentangled himself, getting up and walking to the door, trying to will his semi down. Jim turned on his stomach and watched him, chin in his hands and a mischievous smile on his face.

‘You going to be able to walk to the lift?’ he asked and Ross gave him the finger.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Hawkins.’ he said.

‘Later, Poldark.’ Jim replied turning back over and picking up his tablet again. Ross left the room, standing aside to let a very sleepy looking Silver go in and then headed back to his own unit.

Will, Francis and a couple of the German riders they knew quite well were busy playing poker when he came in and he waved a greeting at them and went to his room. His phone buzzed as he was getting ready for bed and Ross picked it up and then let out a burst of laughter at what he saw on the screen.

_20:23 STOP SENDING ME DICK PICS_

_20:24 You fucking love it :)_

_20:25 You’re supposed to be sleeping, not wanking in the bathroom_

_20:26 Call me_

_20:27 NO!!!!!!!!!!_

_20:28 ca4ll meeeeeeeee_

_20:29 Jesus are you typing with one hand?_

_20:30 yes_

Ross looked at the door of the room. Francis wouldn’t be in for a while but he didn’t want to take a chance. He went into the ensuite bathroom and locked the door behind him and then dialled. Jim didn’t say anything but Ross could hear his breathing on the other side, rapid and getting more frantic as the seconds ticked past.

‘I can’t believe you’re making me do this.’ he said, but his body was already betraying him, the erection he’d managed to get rid of in the ride to his floor coming back with a vengeance.

‘You called.’ Jim said and the sound of the arousal in his voice was enough to make Ross’ head spin. ‘Now get your cock out. You need to catch up.’

‘I wouldn’t if you had any kind of self-control.’ Ross grumbled, but he dug the lube out of his washbag and tugged his sweats and underwear down, making his way to sit on the closed toilet as he kicked them off. The first touch of his lubed hand on his now incredibly hard cock was enough to make him gasp and he heard Jim’s soft chuckle on the other side.

‘Only three more days.’ he breathed. ‘And then you can fuck me as much as you want.’

‘Only till the 14th.’ Ross pointed out, dragging his hand over himself as slowly as he could stand, eking it out. ‘Then you’re back in training.’

‘Just going to have to make the best of the time we have.’ Jim replied. There was a sharp little edge to his voice. ‘Fuck, all I can think about is you inside me.’

‘Don’t.’ Ross bit his lip to keep the moans he wanted to make inside, his hand speeding up. ‘I have four people playing poker in the next room.’ He was almost there, the edge coming too fast and too intense.

‘I want to hear you come.’ Jim panted. ‘Ross…’ He was close, Ross could tell, and this time he didn’t try to keep the noise in, letting out the moan and hearing Jim echo it on the other side as they came within seconds of each other.

‘Jesus Christ.’ Ross looked at his soiled hand and sighed. ‘Why?’

‘Because you wanted to.’ Jim sounded happy and a lot more out of breath than he had been a few moments before. ‘Now I’ll go to bed. Sleep well.’

‘Fuck you.’ Ross said and Jim laughed and hung up.

***********

The next day Ross spent the morning going over the cross-country route with Joshua. They were in his unit, sitting together with their tablets on their laps and looking at each fence in turn and discussing the approach. This wasn’t the first time they had done this or run through the jumps, but this was the last time they would be doing it before Ross did his final course walk the next morning.

‘That one is going to be trouble.’ he said, flicking through to the fourth fence, a broad log set-up that led to the first of the water obstacles. ‘I don’t want to take the long route on this so I’m going to have to be spot on with this one.’

‘I’m more worried about the corner combination.’ Joshua said. ‘You have to come in fast and tight. If you don’t put her right, she’ll refuse.’

‘I’m not too worried about those.’ Ross said. ‘She’s been extremely consistent lately with her strides.’

‘What about this?’ Joshua said, flicking to Fences 19 and 20.

‘That is going to be difficult.’ Ross said, leaning over to look. ‘They are fucking narrow at the front.’

‘She’s going to need to keep her feet tucked up and you’re going to have to keep her straight.’ Joshua replied. ‘Now, what are you doing about 23 and 24?’

‘Short route.’ Ross said, feeling a tickle of anticipation. He always got it when he was taking a particularly risky approach.

‘I knew it.’ Joshua shook his head. ‘And I can’t talk you out of it?’

‘No.’ Ross was grinning now. ‘She’ll fly over it, Dad.’

There was a knock on the door and they looked up as Demelza stuck her head in.

‘You ready?’ she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Jim had given Ross two tickets and he’d elected to bring his best friend, mostly because he thought he’d need some moral support. He closed down his tablet and set it aside and then got up.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ he said to Joshua who nodded. He would be staying to chat to Francis about his event and Ross would probably catch him later.

‘Have fun.’ Joshua said with a grin at Demelza.

**********

They took the shuttle to the Maria Lenks Aquatic Centre and went inside with all the other spectators. Ross looked out over the heads of the fairly sparse crowd, trying to spot the woman Jim had show him on his phone. Suddenly there was a noise like steam escaping from a kettle and he was being turned around and inspected.

‘Oooooooh, you’re so tall.’ The woman looking him up and down was short and blond and had a smile like sunshine personified and the same dimples as her son. ‘Jim didn’t say you were tall. No wonder he’s climbing you like a tree. He’s always had a thing for tall men.’

‘Hi.’ Ross said, completely taken aback. ‘You must be Rose.’

‘I am.’ Rose replied, her light blue eyes twinkling merrily.

‘Hi.’ Demelza, seeing that he was wearing his frozen deer look, stepped around him and shook Rose’s hand. ‘I’m Dem. Nice to meet you.’

‘Oh my God, that hair.’ Rose looked at her. ‘Is everyone in the equestrian team gorgeous?’ Ross and Demelza looked at each other, then Demelza took Rose’s arm.

‘I like you already.’ she said and Rose cackled.

‘Here, love.’ she said to Ross, holding out a plastic bag. ‘When Jim told me you and the lovely young lady here were coming to watch I took the liberty.’

Ross looked at her questioningly and opened the bag. There was a wad of folded cloth inside and he took it out, shaking it open to reveal that it was a royal blue t-shirt with the words _TEAM HAWKINS_ written on the front in white. He looked at Dem and she started laughing.

‘Oh that’s just brilliant.’ she said. ‘We do the exact same thing.’ She took the one Ross handed her. ‘How did you know our sizes?’

‘Espionage.’ Rose said with a pleased smile.

They adjourned to the toilets to change into their new shirts and came back out. Rose had stripped off her hoodie to reveal her own t-shirt and they headed into the stands. Their seats were in a perfect position, just to the front of the boards and a little below so they could get a perfect view of the divers going into the water.

They sat down and Rose took off her backpack and opened it, digging out a huge pair of Tupperware containers. She opened one and offered it to them and Demelza made an obscenely loud squealing noise when she saw what was in it.

‘Sausage rolls.’ she exclaimed, immediately taking one and biting into it. ‘Oh God this is heaven.’ The last sentence came out muffled. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re very welcome.’ Rose said, smiling. ‘I have a small parcel of them for you to smuggle to Jim later. He’s giddy about them.’

‘Aren’t those verboten?” Demelza asked, taking another one and going cross-eyed with pleasure as she ate.

‘So is fucking, but that seems to be on the table.’ Rose said cheerfully and Ross choked on his sausage roll. In hindsight it was a rather fitting gesture.

‘Excuse me?’ he managed to say once he’d stopped coughing and had a drink from the water bottle Dem took out of her backpack.

‘It’s driving Emma up the wall.’ Rose cackled. ‘She said that at this point she’s just throwing up her hands and letting you two get on with it.’

‘Oh God…’ Ross was scarlet. ‘This is a highly inappropriate topic of conversation I can’t help feeling.’

‘Nonsense.’ Rose said and urged him to have another sausage roll. ‘Personally, I have never seen Jim this smitten. He likes you an awful lot, Ross.’

‘I like him too.’ Ross couldn’t help smiling. ‘An awful lot.’

‘Oh look.’ Demelza said, pointing. ‘I think they’re about to start.’

Down below them the pools were gleaming azure blue. The row of judges was sitting directly below them and on the other side was a cordoned off area for the coaches and assistant coaches. The change rooms were just behind and Ross could see that the area was busy, camera people and officials moving around.

There was an announcement in English and then French and German and Ross leaned over to see the line of competitors coming into the pool area. He caught sight of Jim and Silver about four pairs in and started smiling so hard his face hurt.

‘Yeah.’ Demelza’s tone of long suffering best friend made him turn and look at her. She was shaking her head and Rose was regarding him with what could only be described as undisguised delight. ‘That’s the stupid face he gets whenever he sees Jim.’

‘Fuck off, Dem.’ he retorted and went back to watching.

‘This calls for the big guns.’ Rose said and went back to her backpack. Demelza watched her.

‘It’s like Mary Poppin’s bag.’ she said and Rose giggled and pulled out a massive union flag.

‘Here.’ she said handing the end to Ross and standing up. Ross looked at Demelza but she was already on her feet and giggling. He got up to join them. If he thought he could have watched in happy obscurity, he was very wrong. The moment the divers started to walk past the main stand, Rose started jumping up and down and screaming and Demelza, never one to pass up an opportunity to be loud, joined in. Ross was left holding the end of the flag and feeling extremely self-conscious. Then he noticed that all the other British spectators were doing the same thing. Ross saw Jim glance up as Rose went into delirious mother mode and he shot them all a dimpled smile. Next to him Silver was grinning and shaking his head. He said something to someone just out of sight and then they were past and going to do the official line up and announcement. The filed to the foot of the pool and took their places, each pair standing together.

The announcers started to call out the names and countries and when they got to Jim and Silver, there was another round of relentless cheering from the group around them, Union flags of all sizes being waved and flapped around. Silver and Jim stepped forward as their names were called, and Ross couldn’t help smiling at the fact that out here he was James and not Jim, and waved to the spectators and then stepped back into line.

‘So how does this work?’ Demelza asked Rose as they sat back down and the divers filed off to the other side of the pool where the trainer’s section and changing rooms were.

‘Well, diving is about consistency.’ Rose said. ‘They have six dives that they have to do.’

‘Oh like we have compulsory elements?’ Demelza looked at Ross. ‘I get that.’

‘Yes.’ Rose replied. ‘But in those six dives there is flexibility because it’s only that approach that is specified. The divers themselves decide what combinations they do. And each type of dive comes with a difficulty tariff and the more complex it is, the higher the score will be.’

‘Okay.’ Demelza nodded. ‘And the scoring?’

‘There are eleven judges in three groups, one for execution, one for synchronicity and one for difficulty. They each give a score between one and ten. The highest and lowest are eliminated and then the rest are added up and multiplied by the technical difficulty and that’s the diver’s score.’ Ross said and they both looked at him. ‘What? I have been doing some research, you know.’

‘He’s right.’ Rose said. ‘That’s why it’s important to be consistent. One bad dive can throw you right out of the ranking.’

‘So how does technical difficulty work?’ Demelza asked.

‘Lots of things.’ Rose said. ‘Number of elements, combinations of elements. There are three positions as well that the dives can be done in and they have different tariffs as well. And the divers are scored for how close their synchronisation is and then their individual performance.’

‘And form would be important I presume.’ Demelza said and Rose nodded.

‘Body position is very important, how perpendicular they are to the water and also how clean their entry is.’ she said. ‘The reason they kick up splash is usually because their position is wrong.’

Ross noticed that the first sets of divers were coming out the change room and felt a bubble of excitement. He settled into his seat and watched.

**********

Jim pulled off his tracksuit bottoms and folded them up and put them in his kit bag. He checked the tape around his big toes, the diving board surface being particularly abrasive, and then straightened back up. The changing rooms were Spartan, concrete and steel benching, and he had his bag next to Silver’s under the bench. He dug around for a bit, taking out his ipod and headphones for between dives. He had an extensive collection of classical music to listen to, finding it kept him calm and focused during competitions. Silver was already ready and waiting for him and they walked out the changing room, stopping to discard their tracksuit tops and kit on a pair of plastic chairs near the exit. They had warmed before the spectators had even come in, using the dry training room and war up pool, and Jim rolled his shoulders as they stepped out and headed for the tower, shammies in hand. Emma was sitting there with her assistant coach Beverly and they both smiled at them as he and Silver stopped briefly to talk.

‘Good night for it.’ She nodded down at Silver’s strapped left wrist. ‘How’s the flipper feeling?’

‘Fine.’ Silver replied. ‘Just keen to get going.’

‘All right then.’ Emma said. ‘Good luck, lads.’

They went to the back of the tower to where the showers were. Jim stuck his head under the spray, the warm water keeping his muscles relaxed. Normally he would have a stint in the tub underneath the tower, but the temperature of the late evening air was too warm and he would probably overheat.

‘Let’s go.’ Silver said, shaking his head to dispel the water. Jim followed him to the first set of steps and they started to make their way up. They were diving fifth in the line-up, a fairly comfortable position to be in. The first dive was a low tariff, only 2.0, and they had both practised it extensively. The Germans were in front of them and they exchanged a couple of words and jokes on their way up. The diving fraternity was a close knit one and they knew each other fairly well. This was also their second Olympics and most of the same competitors had been there and at the World Cup in February. He and Silver had done particularly well, winning silver at that event which had prompted a flurry of puns.The Germans took their dive and Jim peered over the railing to watch them go in, turning back and grinning at Silver.

‘It was good.’ he said and Silver grunted at him. Tension and focus made him surly and uncommunicative. It was one of the reasons Emma had paired them to begin with, Silver’s focus calming Jim and Jim’s ebullience lifting Silver out of his grumpiness.

They got to the platform, ten metres above the glimmering azure surface if the pool. Jim inhaled deeply and stood, flicking out one foot after the other then jumping in place a couple of times. Next to him Silver was folding his hands over. They both had their little tics, and Jim dried his hands off one more time, chucked his shammy over the side and adjusted his speedo then stepped in beside Silver.

‘Ready.’ Silver asked.

‘Ready’ Jim replied and they walked forward to the edge of the board. They turned as one, moving back so they were both balancing on the balls of their feet. The first dive was an inward pike and Jim felt the adrenaline surge and then settle inside him.

‘Ready?’ Silver asked and Jim breathed in and out once.

‘Ready.’ he replied.

‘Up.’ Silver said and Jim raised his arms, reaching up to the sky and elongating the length of his body all the way to his fingertips. ‘One, two, three go.’

Jim raised up on his toes, bouncing and then jumping up and tucking himself forward. The momentum carried him over into the pike position, thighs against his chest before straightening up and his arms making a clean sweep to the side and down to clasp in front of him, braced to cut through the water and make his entrance as clean as possible and with his toes pointed to reduce the splash.

He could feel it was good, the water parting around him as they went in together, and Jim turned and kicked himself forward. It took him to the edge of the pool where he grabbed his shammy, which was floating on the surface, and then climbed out. Silver was already there, tugging at the front of his speedo and Jim went past him to go and dunk the shammy in the hot tub. He doused himself in the heated water and then hopped in for a few seconds to just warm through quickly. He got out and went to the shower, waiting for Silver to speak next to him once they got their scores. He never spoke before then.

The announcer read out the scores and Jim smiled, happy with what he heard. The dive itself was textbook but that meant nothing. Things could easily fuck up and the score of 56.40 made him extremely optimistic.

‘Not bad.’ Silver, ever the perfectionist, muttered and they waked over to Emma who was up and waiting for them.

‘It was good.’ she said and Jim felt a warm glow inside at her approval. It was sincerely given so when she said it was good, she meant it. ‘But Jim you need to bring those arms in a little tighter, you were drifting a wee bit.’

‘Yes, Emma.’ he said, still smiling and she nodded.

‘’Good work lads.’ she said. ‘Now get in there and focus on the next one.’

**********

Ross knew his mouth was hanging open but he didn’t care.

He’d been sort of lost the moment Jim and Silver had come out. For one thing the speedos they wore were tiny. He could see every gracefully carved plane of Jim’s body, the perfect abdominals and the smooth contours of his thighs, arms and shoulders. His tanned skin was a perfect foil to the white, blue and red of the swimwear and his blond hair was spiked with water.

‘Christ.’ Demelza said. ‘No offence Rose, but your son is a looker.’

‘You should have seen his dad.’ Rose said smugly. ‘You could crack walnuts on his arse.’

‘No shit?’ Demelza cackled. ‘Well you’d have to ask Ross about the quality of Jim’s arse. I believe he’s been getting very well acquainted with it.’ Ross stared at her in embarrassed shock but then Rose screeched with laughter.

‘Oh God.’ she giggled. ‘Poor Emma. I bet she has a right old time trying to keep the two of them apart.’ She snuffled into her hand as she tried to get herself under control. ‘Jim’s always been a bit, shall we say…straightforward in what he wants.’ She gave Ross a wink that was positively indecent. ‘And he likes sex. There’s no denying that. That one I will take the blame for.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ It was out before Ross could stop it and the scandalised look on his face made both woman start laughing again.

But then he saw Jim and Silver come out on the diving board and everything fell away as he watched them approach, eye glued to Jim and breath stolen by the effortless grace that he now moved with. The dive itself was perfect to his eyes, the leap and fall seeming to pass in slow motion until Jim resurfaced from the water, sleek and agile as he popped up out of the pool and disappeared behind the tower.

‘God, you’re smitten.’ Demelza said and shoulder bumped him.

The next dive was another 2.0 dive, this time reverse, and Silver and Jim had very similar marks to their first round. The third was where the tariffs started to go up and the marks began to vary where they had been fairly closely clustered before.

‘The next one is tougher.’ Rose said. ‘It’s a back three and a half somersault.’

‘Oh wow.’ Demelza was now well involved in the action, watching everything intently unlike Ross who was simply trying to glimpse every little bit of Jim he could. ‘What’s the tariff for that.’

‘3.3’ Rose said. ‘But they are both very good at this one.’

**********

Jim bounced on his toes, clenching and unclenching his hands to keep himself loose. Next to him Silver was flexed forward. The sound came of the Germans entering the water and they headed up to the next level, having discarded their shammies over the side.

Jim allowed himself a small glance, just enough to catch sight of the dark curls and lean body in a royal blue t-shirt, smiling on the inside at the realisation that his mother had obviously given Ross his own one.

‘Ready.’ Silver said and they walked to the end and turned, moving into position. Silver repeated the question.

‘Yeah.’ Jim replied and raised himself up on his toes.

‘One, two, three go.’ Silver said and Jim raised his arms just a little for momentum and then the full swing of them through the air as they jumped. This time there was the flick over backwards, catching his shins and bringing both knees up as close to his chest as possible while maintaining the speed necessary to complete the full three and a half twists before straightening out and taking care not to go over too far for fear of flattening out. He landed true though, kicking back up through the water and swimming across to the side in a single stroke. Silver was smiling and that was always a good sign.

The scores were announced and Jim had to stop himself from skipping a little gleefully when he checked the scoreboard and saw that they had their first ten. He smiled at Silver and bounced to the showers.

*********

‘That’s good right?’ Ross was now completely sucked in after watching the last dive. It had made him catch his breath then gasp a little as they jumped off and spiralled gracefully towards the water.

‘Very good.’ Rose replied. ‘They’ve got a ten.’

‘I think I’m starting to get it now.’ Demelza had her phone out and was reading the official rules on scoring dives. She looked at Ross and grinned. ‘Of course, you’re just interested in one thing.’

‘Shut up, Dem.’ he retorted, but his hands were getting sweaty and one knee was jumping as he started to feel the same exhilaration he felt when he competed. ‘I told you I’m watching.

**********

The fourth dive, a reverse three and a half somersaults in tuck, was not as good as their previous efforts. The score of 86.5 got a scowl from Silver and he huffed and went to jump in the hot tub and then stomped back to the change room with Jim in tow. Emma tried to talk to him, but Silver ignored her and Jim went to her instead.

‘It’s all right.’ she said. ‘You’re still in third place. You’ll get through the prelims easily but he needs to calm down.’

‘I know.’ Jim replied. He was well aware of the pressure that Silver put on himself. At twenty-seven he was in his fourth Olympics and knew that his life span was limited. Emma smiled and patted his arm.

‘Off you go chook.’ she said. ‘Go rattle our old man’s cage a bit, will you?’ Jim nodded and went into the change rooms. He found Silver halfway down, zipping up his top.

‘I know.’ he said as Jim got to him. ‘I fucked it up.’

‘It wasn’t just you.’ Jim replied. ‘We were both out of synch.’ He gave Silver a look. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine.’ Silver snapped and then immediately looked apologetic. Then Jim knew what the problem was.

‘How bad is it?’ he asked and Silver shrugged.

‘No worse than normal.’ he replied, his tone indicating very clearly that he wasn’t going to discuss it.

‘If it’s hurting too badly then you need to tell Emma.’ Jim said, lowering his voice. ‘John…’

‘Just leave it, Jim.’ Silver said, his dark blue eyes stormy. ‘I said it’s fine.’

He moved past Jim to grab his headphones and player and sat down in the chair and Jim sighed.

‘All right.’ he said and sat down beside him.

**********

The next two dives were big tariff ones. Rose had explained the finer points as they watched Jim and Silver leave the pool after their fifth dive. It was also when Ross had noticed something else as well.

‘Do they do all their dives like that?’ he had asked as the scores had come up. ‘It’s just Jim was telling me that he prefers twists and pikes.’ There had been a pause as the scoreboard had shown them that Jim and silver had scored only 81.4 which had dropped them down into fifth position.

‘Crap.’ Demelza had said.

‘No, that’s all right.’ Rose said, but she was rubbing her hands together nervously. ‘They just need to get through.’ She blew into her hands. ‘This next one will be good, it’s Jim’s best. And the answer to your question, Ross, is that he does. But John’s the senior diver so they go with what he wants. That’s the way it is. When Jim competes in the individuals, you’ll see he’s a very different diver. But this one coming up Jim had a say in so just watch. It’s a backward two and a half somersault in pike and two and a half twists.’

‘That sounds a little daunting.’ Ross replied, his knee bouncing even harder now than before.

‘It is, but that’s Jim.’ Rose said proudly. ‘He’s been like that since he was born, absolutely fearless.’

‘Hmm, sounds like someone I know.’ Demelza said, giving Ross a sidelong smile. She turned to Rose. ‘I know Jim’s going to be tied up with practice all morning before the semis. Ross’ cross country round is at ten more or less. Why don’t you come watch with me and you can see just how perfectly they match each other and meet Ross' mom at the same time.’

‘That sounds delightful.’ Rose was beaming. ‘I’ve never seen eventing before but I was watching you at Badmington on Youtube last night, Ross. It does look very exciting.’

‘In that case you are more than welcome to come.’ Ross replied, smiling at her. ‘You can even meet my girlfriend afterwards.’

‘Just be careful and go armed with sugar lumps.’ Demelza cautioned Rose. ‘Bathsheba’s an absolute bitch.’

‘She is not.’ Ross said. ‘And she fucking loves your son, Rose. I have no idea how or why. I think Jim might be some kind of closet horse-whisperer.’

‘Well, God knows where he got it from.’ Rose laughed. ‘Definitely not from me or Rob. We were sea people, not land people.’ She squinted back at the far side of the pool. ‘Right, here they come.’ They watched the pair exit the changing area for their final dive and Ross noticed that the bounce had gone from Jim’s step.

‘Something’s wrong.’ he found himself saying. ‘Jim’s worried about something.’

‘Oh?’ Rose peered at the two figures starting to ascend the diving tower’s lower level and then dug her glasses out of her backpack and out them on. ‘Oh buggeration.’

‘What?’ Demelza asked.

‘John had a bad fall off his bicycle about six months ago.’ Rose said. ‘He likes to cycle and some moron almost took him off the road. He broke his wrist.’

‘And he still dives?’ Demelza said. ‘Damn.’

‘Yes but it hurts him.’ Rose shook her head. ‘I knew he should have sat this one out. Emma should have put Will Manderley in with Jim.’

‘Who’s Will?’ Ross asked.

‘He’s the other diver Jim works with.’ Rose said. ‘He’s still young, only seventeen at the moment. By the next Olympics Emma wants them to be a pair.’ She smiled. ‘Jim’s actually a very good teacher when he puts his mind to it.’

They all took a deep breath and watched as their collective trepidation started to bubble over as the pair got to the top platform and took their places.

**********

Jim flicked the shammy against his legs, more out of tension than anything else. He ditched it over the side and bounced in place a few times, then bent to stretch out and touch his toes. He could feel things were off. The last two dives hadn’t been good and Silver was now sullen and silent. This last was a backward entry and they walked forward.

‘Last one.’ Silver said in a low voice. ‘Time to make it count. Ready?’

‘Ready.’ Jim replied and lifted on his toes and took a deep breath. He knew he could nail this.

‘One, two, three go.’ Silver said and Jim threw himself up and back, arms coming around to help create the pace and spin. The twists were first, arms in position with one behind his head and the other across his body and his legs perfectly straight as he moved through the twists and then bent into the pike for the turns. He pulled his legs in tightly, every line straight and then pulling himself out of it again to brace his hands and enter the water smoothly.

Jim knew it was good, could feel how tight and controlled his entry was. He tumbled under the water and popped back up towards the surface, coming up and swimming to the side. But then he turned and saw Silver’s face and it felt like his stomach had fallen out of his body.

‘John.’ He swam over to him.

‘I’m okay.’ Silver said, but his face was white. ‘Get out the pool, Jim. If you stay in too long it looks like something’s wrong.’ Jim nodded and swam back, Silver following behind him. They got out and Jim had to physically restrain himself from going to Silver to check on him. They went to the showers and Jim stuck his head under the water, butterflies flapping frantically in his stomach and waiting. Then the scores came and he let out a relieved sigh. He looked across at Silver and got a small smile.

‘We’re through.’ he said. Jim wanted to feel happy, but all he felt was concern as he glanced down at how Silver was cradling his wrist. Silver noticed and shook his head.

‘Not a word.’ he murmured.

‘But…’Jim started and Silver simply walked off, head up and smiling at Emma as they went back towards the changing rooms. She was visibly delighted.

‘Great dive, boys.’ she said. ‘Well done.’ Jim returned her smile, but knew that it wasn’t what he was feeling on the inside.

He went inside the changing room and that was when he really saw the slump in Silver’s shoulders and he knew that whatever Silver was saying, things were not okay.


	9. Cross Country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next event for Ross and more worry for Jim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to follow Ross on his ride, this is an excellent guide.
> 
> http://eventingnation.com/your-colorful-guide-to-the-2016-olympic-cross-country-course/

The alarm went off at five and Ross’ eyes shot open. He was already in that state of readiness, his whole body almost buzzing with energy as he sat up and then practically bounced out of bed. 

‘Jesus fuck.’ Francis muttered from the other side of the room. ‘I hate sharing with you.’ He rolled over and buried his head under his pillow. Ross laughed and went to shower. He got out and dressed and checked his kit over once before collecting everything and leaving. The others would be up later and come to the centre with Grace and Rose in tow. Then he realised he’d forgotten something and dropped everything by the door before going back in, smiling as he picked up the friendship bracelet and tying it around his wrist. 

He left the unit and got to the lift, waiting for the doors to open. As they did he broke out into a smile at the sight in front of him. Jim had obviously just gotten out of bed and he was standing there barefoot in a pair of flannel pyjama pants covered in Deadpool masks and a white t-shirt that was wrinkled beyond all hope. His hair was everywhere and his blue-green eyes were still blurry with sleep.

‘Hi.’ he said, lifting one hand to rub at his eyes, and Ross felt his stomach turn over. 

‘You should be sleeping.’ he said, getting in the lift and putting everything down so that Jim could curl into his arms. He was warm and soft and Ross felt like he never wanted to let him go as he stuck his nose in Jim’s hair and inhaled the combination of chlorine and Jim’s natural smell. They had only had a brief congratulations the night before, one rushed kiss. Jim had been shattered after the prelims and gone straight to sleep. 

‘I’ll go back to bed once you’ve gone.’ he said, most of his words lost in Ross’ chest and his arms tightening around him. ‘I just wanted to say good luck before you left.’

‘Thank you.’ Ross said, smiling as Jim tilted his head back and then leaning down to kiss him. It was gentle and lingering and when he pulled back Ross couldn’t help wishing they had at least another hour to just stand there like that, locked in each other’s arms and kissing the time away.

‘You’re going to be brilliant.’ Jim said. ‘I know it.’

Ross looked at him and their eyes locked. He felt it again, that pleasant surge that made his heart speed up and his insides get warm. Jim stared back up at him, slow blinks like a cat making him look unbelievably adorable.

‘Ross…’ he said.

‘I think I need to tell you something.’ Ross blurted out. He was about to throw all caution to the wind but then the lift hit the ground floor and the doors opened to reveal a bunch of female GB cyclists. They all grinned at them and Ross let Jim go. 

‘I’ll see you later.’ he replied. ‘I’m going to try and get there as soon as I’m done.’

‘Okay.’ Jim replied. He leaned up for one last kiss and Ross could practically hear the heart-eyes from the cyclists. ‘Have fun.’

‘And good luck back.’ Ross said. He’d gathered his things and stepped out. The cyclists gave him a chorus of good luck as well they shuffled into the lift past him, Jim disappearing behind them. 

***********

He got to the centre and found Joshua and Enys in conference outside Bathsheba’s stall. Bathsheba had her head over the door and her ears pricked up when she saw Ross and she let out a neigh that had Enys sticking his fingers in his ears. 

‘She’s full of beans this morning.’ Prudie said, coming up to the door from inside. ‘I’ve just given her breakfast.’

‘Good time to have ours I think.’ Joshua said. They headed over to the tack room where Joshua produced a cool box packed with fresh bread rolls filled with cheese and ham, bananas and a flash of very strong sweet black coffee. They sat around and ate, chatting about the course. Ross was due to do his final walk through in a few hours and then get ready for his ride at twenty past ten. There was a small warm up ring next to the start of the course where he could go and get Bathsheba ready so he had to be dressed and good to go by nine. They finished breakfast and Joshua checked his phone when it chimed. 

‘Your mother’s here.’ He said. ‘She’s going to be on the bend by the second water jump.’

‘All right.’ Ross took his own phone out and texted the details to Demelza. ‘Dem’s bringing Rose so they can meet up with her.’ 

‘This is quiet serious.’ Enys said with a grin. ‘You’ve met his mom, he’s met your parents and now they’re meeting each other?’

‘I know.’ Joshua sounded pleased. ‘What’s even more amazing is that Grace and I really like him.’

‘Fuck, that is serious.’ Enys laughed. Ross gave him a shove and it was returned with interest. 

After a gentle hack out with Joshua on Merlin and Enys on Debonair, he and Joshua walked down to the course. The design was a challenging one and the other riders and trainers were doing the same thing they were and walking it out. There were thirty-three fences in total and Ross saw Will up ahead of them. He gave Ross and Joshua a wave and came over. 

‘It’s a tough course.’ he said as they started their walk through, going up the uphill pull at the beginning that lead to the first fence, a wide flower bed with a hypnotic black and white pattern on the side. 

‘Time’s ten minutes and fifteen seconds.’ Joshua replied. ‘I think we’re going to see a lot of time faults.’ 

‘And run outs.’ Ross added. ‘But it looks safer than Badminton.’ 

‘We can hope.’ Will said. ‘Oh bloody hell, this one is going to be an absolute bugger.’ This was in reference to fence four, the first water element. It was a log table, very wide indeed, and it led through a quick three strides directly to a log drop that meant the horse would be jumping down to a lower level into the water and then have to jump a huge log decorated with Brazilian birdlife. They passed it and took their time going down the slope to fence 6, the brush corners they had already identified as a trickier element. 

‘Through there I think.’ Will was looking back over his shoulder. ‘If we cruise straight through we can just pop over.’ 

‘I think Chilli will like that more than Bath.’ Ross replied, his arms folded as her surveyed the line. ‘She hates taking short strides.’

‘She hates a lot of things.’ Will observed dryly, exchanging smiles with Joshua. Ross returned the smile. He liked Will immensely and had learned a lot from the experienced eventer over the years. 

Fence 8 was the first serious change in level, a rather severe downward slope that formed the sunken road. There was a fence painted to look like a traditional house in yellow and white at the crest of the hill and then another narrower obstacle coming out. They kept going and got to the bamboo keyhole at fence 10. 

‘Christ, that’s small.’ Will said. ‘I should have put Chilli on a diet.’ Ross snorted with laughter and nodded. 

‘We’re probably going to have to go through with a machete.’ he said. 

‘Now that would be interesting.’ Joshua laughed. ‘At least it’s dry.’ 

‘And warm.’ Ross said. ‘It’s going to be at least twenty-four degrees today.’

Fences 11 and 12 were a step up wall and a brush combination following immediately afterwards. It meant a quick change in levels and having to get the horses’ heads up almost immediately which would be tricky as well as having to deal with a pair of very sharp angles to jump both parts. It was a theme that was repeated at the three fences that made up the sixteenth element. It was the second water jump with a formidable log jump into the water and another step up out, followed immediately by a more slender log jump. It would be very physically demanding though. 

The terrain was undulating but when they got to fence 19 it sloped down and there were three very narrow faced brush elements that had to be jumped on the downhill when the horses’ natural tendency was to put their heads down and run. The extremely narrow approaches would require an extremely straight and accurate line to get right. After that was a massive broad pile of logs that made up fence 21, but Ross knew that this was where Bathsheba had an advantage. She was very long in the body and broad stretched jumps gave her no problem at all. Hers were in the tight corners and nippy turns that smaller horses could make far easier than she could. 

They walked up to fence 22 and Ross nodded at it. 

‘This one.’ he said to Joshua. ‘If anything’s going to put her off it will be this.’ It wasn’t as formidable as some of the others, being more of a traditional triple oxer, but it was stark white. The change in colour was something that had the potential to spook Bathsheba into running out.

They got through the final fences and made it to the bundled reeds that made up the final obstacle and then headed back. Ross and Will went to go get changed and Joshua headed off to the stalls to oversee Bathsheba's tacking up. 

In the change room, they exchanged opinions and suggestions about the jumps as they got dressed. Like the other two events, Ross’ breeches were white as was the long sleeved lightweight shirt he wore underneath the white Team GB polo shirt, a red lion on one sleeve and a blue crest on the other. Over it went the black body protector he wore and he adjusted it so it was snug. Over that went the number bib, the 006 in front and on his back making him easy to identify. Ross snapped the catches into place and then picked up the bright red oversized eventing watch he wore and strapped it on his left wrist. His boots were different to his dressage boots and then again to his jumping boots, cut lower for more movement and black topped with the traditional brown. The last was his helmet, covered in a dark blue eventing silk with the three lions embroidered on the front. He had already done his hair, pulling it back and braiding it to sit close which was a trick Verity and Demelza had taught him. 

‘I’ll see you out there.’ he said and Will shook his hand. ‘Good luck.’

‘You too.’ Will replied and Ross headed off, tucking his medical card into the armband pocket and strapping it on, juggling whip and gloves. He got to the stall and Bathsheba was tacked up, her black coat gleaming and a pretty checkered pattern brushed onto her hindquarters. her mane was loose today, neatly brushed and making her look coquettish. Prudie was on her knees underneath her chest, smoothing grease down her forelegs. Bathsheba nosed at him as he got to her and Ross briskly checked over her tack, tugging at the straps and girth to check they were secure. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Prudie, but he was a hands on rider and preffered to check everything himself. 

‘Time.’ Joshua said, his face stern and focused. Ross nodded, pulling on his gloves. He handed Prudie his whip and mounted up, settling it in and then taking it back as he gathered up the reins. 

‘Let’s go pretty girl.’ he said and Bathsheba snorted and swished her braided tail as she trotted out to the event course.

**********

Jim sat on the sidelines at the pool and worried. They were on a break from using the dry training room to get warmed up and practise their dives for the next rounds.

They had yet to start practising in the water, only having a slot at twelve, which was good because it meant he would be able to stream Ross’ cross country round on his tablet before having to get in the pool. The semis were set to start 4pm and then the finals at 6pm. 

But right at that moment he was having doubts as to whether they would even make it. 

He glanced over at Silver, noticing how his partner was still nursing his wrist, even if he was gritting his teeth and powering through whenever Emma looked at them. He hadn’t revealed that he was hurting and Jim was getting more and more anxious as he realised that it could seriously affect their performance. He chewed on a nail and watched surreptitiously as Silver shifted in his seat. He was watching the other teams that were currently practising and Jim moved to see that he was absently rubbing at the elasticated strapping on his wrist. 

Telling Emma was out of the question. Silver had made that very clear and Jim was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was torn about it. It would nobody any good if Silver were seriously injured, not least himself because they still had the individual competition to do.

He sighed and sat back in his seat, feet propped up on the chair in front of him and turned on his tablet. He was still excited to watch Ross compete, even if it was a little tempered by how he was feeling. 

‘All right?’ Jim looked up to see the other two synchronised divers from Team GB behind them. He smiled as they dropped down into a pair of empty chairs and peered over Jim’s shoulder. 

‘Hi.’ He replied and Tom leaned over the chair to see what he was streaming. 

‘Ross is riding today?’ he asked and Jim nodded. Like him, Tom was out and had been for a couple of years. His fiance was a regular in the stands. 

‘He is.’ Jim checked his watch. ‘In exactly thirty minutes.’

‘Cool.’ Tom looked down the stand to where Silver was sitting. ‘What’s wrong with John?’

‘Yeah.’ Dan said. He was on Jim’s other side. ‘He’s not looking very happy.’

‘You know John.’ Jim replied, keeping his voice casual. ‘He’s always grumpy before a competition.’ He took a deep breath and put his cheerful face on. ‘He’ll be fine later.’ 

‘Looks like it’s starting.’ Dan said and they all peered at the tablet. 

**********

Demelza led Rose through the crowds. She finally spotted a large brimmed sun hat and headed for it. It was made of straw and covered with silk flowers that were rather moth eaten. Ross had bought it for Grace’s birthday when he was ten and she always wore it at competitions. 

‘There she is.’ she said to Rose, taking her hand. ‘Come on.’

They got to the fence and saw Grace leaning on it. She turned and removed a massive pair of Jackie O sunglasses from her face, smiling brilliantly. Rose returned it and walked to her. 

‘Well, I see where Ross gets his smile from.’ she said by way of greeting. 

‘And I see where Jim gets his dimples from.’ Grace replied. ‘I’m Grace.’ 

‘And I’m Rose.’ Rose relied. They gave each other a once over and then giggled and hugged. 

‘And I’m a fucking genius.’ Demelza said to herself smugly as she watched them. They let each other go and Grace moved to make room for them, jostling someone on the other side of her that she blithely ignored. 

‘I hope you like French Martinis.’ she said and knelt down to dig in a coolbox at her feet. 

‘I like anything with the word Martini in it to be honest.’ Rose replied. She had taken her backpack off and was now also rummaging around inside. ‘I hope you like French Fancies.’

‘A woman after my own heart.’ Grace cackled and stood up with a stack of plastic tumblers and a thermos. ‘Dem, be a love and help me.’ Demelza took the tumblers, separating out three and shoving the rest in the coolbox. Grace opened the thermos and poured out a blush pink liquid until the tumblers were full. 

‘To your son winning gold.’ she said to Rose, handing her a tumbler. 

‘And to yours doing the same.’ Rose replied. They clinked and drank. Demelza watched on in undisguised delight. 

Things were going better than even she could have wished for.

*********

Ross eased Bathsheba into a canter around the warm up paddock and felt her muscles move fluidly underneath him. She was loose and relaxed, her ears up and looking around her in interest at the other horses. Ross did keep her clear of the other horses, knowing that one of the ways Bathsheba liked to settle her pre-competition nerves was to take a bite out of something. 

A steward came to the ring and waved to him and Ross turned Bathsheba and trotted her out. Joshua would be with the other trainers near the start box and he rode her down the short stretch. The rounds were staggered to start every five or four minutes alternating so there were always two riders on the course at the same time. Ross was between one of the Australians and one of the Dutch riders. He rode up to the start box and Bathsheba saw the flags and immediately started to dance underneath him and Ross grinned. She loved cross country so much, throwing herself into it and performing more for herself than anything. 

He got her to the line and she put her ears back and stood up on her hind feet, dropping back down and bouncing in anticipation. Ross held her in tightly, the muscles standing out in his forearms as he kept her under control. He turned her in a little pirouette and glanced at the steward who nodded. Ross set his watch, catching a little glimpse of red white and blue braiding peeking out from underneath his glove, and gave Bathsheba the reins and she bounded forward as if shot out of a cannon, her long stride making her journey up to the first jump effortless. 

Bathsheba took off perfectly, sailing over and Ross settled in for the ride balanced on the balls of his feet to take the weight off her back and keep his upper body perfectly still, bent over her neck with his line of sight right between her ears. His hands held the reins securely but loose enough that she didn’t have to pull, resting just above her withers. His riding style was fairly athletic, moving with her rather than against her which was one of the reasons he could get a wining ride out of Bathsheba when nobody else could.  
She picked up pace on the uphill galloping line as they approached the second jump, her ears pricked up as she cleared it easily, the white arches flashing by beneath them. The Picnic Table was next and Ross brought Bathsheba’s head up so she could have a good look and she took it in a mighty leap, her body stretching out over it like a greyhound. She landed solidly on the other side and Ross flicked a glanced down to his watch. 

The next was the three obstacles of the first water element and Bathsheba flicked her ears and took the first jump without a hitch, then put in two strides instead of three and took off earlier than Ross wanted her too, too impatient on her execution. Thankfully her height and scopey jump meant that she did actually clear the hanging log, sending up a huge splash as she came down into the water. It hit Ross in the face and he blinked furiously to clear his eyes just in time to haul her up and steady her as they got to the log and she popped over it.

‘Good girl.’ It was breathed as the came out of the water and straight to the Pine Wood Ramp, a slanted obstacle that was deceptively wide. They took it and then it was a long uphill pull up and he gave Bathsheba her head and her long elastic stride ate up the ground. The Corners Question was next, the short brush obstacles presented meant to be ridden in four and once again Ross was very pleased to have a horse with such a massive stride as Bathsheba just pulled it off. She landed unsteadily though and her ears went back. Ross dropped one hand to her neck to calm her but the damage was done and the next jump she took she twisted in the air and almost unseated him. Thankfully it was an easy jump compared to the others and although Ross ended halfway up her neck, he was able to recover his seat quickly.

**********

In the aquatics centre there was a loud collective gasp as the three spectators watched Ross almost go over Bathsheba’s head. 

‘Bloody fucking hell!’ Jim said, both hands to his head and eyes wide, and then realised how loudly it had come out. Emma and Silver were both looking back at him, as was pretty much every other person in the place. ‘Sorry.’ 

‘That was far too close.’ Tom had his chin resting on his hands.

‘Yeah.’ Dan had his backpack to his chest, peering out over the top of it. ‘Bloody hell, that was close.’

‘He’s going to give me a bloody heart attack at this rate.’ Jim said, sticking his nails in his mouth. 

He didn’t stop watching though.

***********

The roll top at the top of the sunken road went well and Bathsheba thundered down the slope and back up to jump the mirror jump on the other side. Ross was wary that she might burn herself out but she fought him when he tried to curb her speed and so he let her go and she popped the narrow arrowhead fence that made up the final element of the obstacle. The Bamboo Keyhole was next and Ross put his faith in Bathsheba and his head down as she jumped through it, the tails of the plants whipping at his legs and arms.  
They got to the step up and Bathsheba took it easily, her snorts getting louder as she exerted herself to turn and take the two brush uprights as tightly as Ross could get her to make the turn. The big log at 13 was the start of a set of similar obstacles and they caused him no problems until they got to the next water. That was when he saw a familiar hat, a head of wild copper curls and a third person in a bright red t-shirt that matched the one that his mother and Demelza were wearing and he knew Rose had been well-inducted. They were clapping and cheering in a manner that was extremely restrained compared to the way the crowds had been cheering at the diving the night before, but they all gave him a double thumbs up as he rode past. 

Ross smiled and looked ahead to the hanging log. Bathsheba went easily, putting in the right stride count and jumping it cleanly even though they were past the hallway mark. She was super fit, as was he, and she crashed through the water, popped the bank and then jumped the slender log on the other side.

***********

‘This is very tough.’ Sasha said over Dan’s shoulder. The Ukrainians had wandered over to see what they were watching and had been drawn in. His partner Max nodded. 

‘They have to be super fit.’ Jim said. ‘It’s a ridiculously long course.’ He was delighted because he’d caught a glimpse of his mother standing with Demelza and a tall dark woman in an excessively floral hat at the corner that looked too much like Ross to be anyone other than Grace Poldark. 

He had to say that the longer he watched the more impressed he was. He’d never expected something that looked so sedate to be so exciting but he had found himself holding his breath before every jump. Ross, on the other hand, was the picture of focus and calm, his hands steady and his dark eyes fixed on every obstacle ahead. Bathsheba was equally controlled, picking her feet up neatly and committing herself to every jump.

‘So how will we know he’s done well?’ Dan asked. 

‘He has to get all the way round without his horse stopping or refusing to jump.’ Jim replied. ‘And he’s only got ten minutes and fifteen seconds to do it in.’

‘That is nothing.’ Tom had moved to sit next to Jim. ‘Your boyfriend is nuts doing this.’

‘Yeah.’ Jim smiled at the use of the word. ‘He absolutely is.’

**********

Bathsheba raced along the galloping line to the square oxer and double combination. Ross had toyed with taking the long route but Bathsheba was running strongly so they did a sharp turn to jump the open corner and then it was another long uphill gallop. Bathsheba began to blow as they hit it and Ross knew she was starting to feel the burn. They jumped the Flower Box at the top and then it was across to the log, landing on the slope down and then taking a short line to two narrow boxes.

The Wood Pile was on a double slope, up in the approach and down on the landing and Bathsheba was a little unsteady when she hit the ground but she recovered and kept going. Ross took another look at his watch and let her ease off a bit when he saw they were making good time. He was also dreading the next fence and wanted to take it a bit slower to prevent Bathsheba getting any ideas about running out. 

She was wary, sidling out of line as they approached and Ross had to give her a good hard kick to get her going. She took the jump but made it clear that she didn’t like it with a couple of little fly bucks and Ross had to wrestle her back into line. Bathsheba retaliated by picking up speed, her ears back as they got to the big table and Ross capitalised on her annoyance by kicking her again. This got her over and also made her angry enough that she took the sharp line to the right easily, turning on a penny and leaping sideways over the gate. 

The downside was that she now had her head down and that was it. Thankfully the next jump was the second to last water and Bathsheba sailed over the obstacle and landed hard, sending up a sheet of water that fairly drenched Ross and then charged at the angled fence as they came out. This one was big but Bathsheba crashed over it completely undaunted. 

**********

‘My my.’ The commentator sounded vaguely amused. ‘Ross Poldark is getting fairly carted around the course now. Bathsheba is a big mare but she’s also quite a handful.’

‘I have to say that his approach is extremely unorthodox.’ the other commentator said. ‘He’s practically throwing her around. Lets hope he doesn’t make a mistake or his recklessness could cost him a nasty fall like it did in 2014.’

‘Shut up!’ Jim yelled at his tablet. ‘You’re not bloody helping.’ 

‘Shit.’ Emma had now joined the throng. ‘He’s right, she’s a bloody handful.’ She reached down and ruffled Jim’s hair, making him swipe at her. ‘No wonder he’s so good at handling you.’

‘Fuck off.’ Jim retorted and slumped down in his seat as the others snickered at him.

*********

Ross decided that the best thing he could do now was just hang on for dear life. Bathsheba’s blood was up and she had decided she was taking the wheel.

He kept her lines straight but made no attempt to slow her down and she snorted her way to the next jump. She practically took off as she went over, the next two following in quick succession until they hit the final water and she bounded over the boat into it and took the two angled brushes in quick succession and then decided she was going to try to kill them both as she hurdled the toad, nearly coming down but picking herself up at the last minute, Ross’ tight grip making sure she picked up the strides again. All of this was done with her ears back and angry squeals emanating with every jump. 

‘Come on, you crazy bitch.’ Ross hissed through gritted teeth as they hit the bank on the other side. ‘Just three more.’ 

Bathsheba responded by taking the sweeping corner of the course at a near run in spite of her fatigue and Ross urged her on, hands high up on her neck and kicking her sharply in the ribs. Bathsheba put her head up as they approached the Bridge of Knowledge and tensed as if to refuse, but her sheer bloodymindedness won out and she jumped it cleanly. There were only two more now and then they were done. The surface here was flat with no twists or dips and Ross let her run the approach to the last brush and she soared over it. 

There was only the last fence left, a stepped wooden structure, and Ross checked his time and then checked it again. He collected Bathsheba and she gave one last mighty effort, taking off and rising like Pegasus over the final obstacle and landing beautifully on the other side with a clean flick of her heels. 

It took a second for him to realise they were not only through but had gone clear with not a single refusal or run out and Ross stood up in his stirrups, yelling and punching the air, completely beside himself. Bathsheba decided that it was time for her own celebration and gave a terrific buck and Ross ended up on her neck again, laughing and sitting back down before he actually did fall off.

*********

‘Oh dear God.’ Emma exclaimed. She had now claimed the chair on the other side of Jim. ‘He’s as bad as you.’ Next to her, Jim was laughing uproariously, not caring that the other divers below were all staring at him like he’d gone mad. 

‘I know.’ he replied. ‘Isn’t he bloody wonderful?’

*********

They came cantering through the finish, Ross slapping Bathsheba happily on her neck, now wet with sweat. She was blowing hard but he could see from the flicking of her ears that she was very pleased with herself. They got to the end of the run and he pulled her into a walk, letting the reins fall loose and she lowered her head, ears going horizontal. Joshua, Prudie and Enys were all waiting for him, bouncing up and down and making enough noise for six people, especially Prudie who was almost bursting out of her skin. 

‘Oh you clever girl.’ she said, grabbing Batsheba’s reins and kissing her nose. 

‘Fuck me.’ Joshua looked shellshocked. ‘That was a blinder of a ride, lad.’ Ross slid off and Enys went with Prudie to cool Bathsheba off. 

‘Was it good?’ he asked, out of breath himself. Joshua gave him an astounded look and then started laughing. 

‘You’re in first place after that.’ He said and Ross blinked in surprise. ‘No-one is going to catch you on this course at any rate. So that means you’re now in third overall after the Australians with your dressage score and one of them still has to run.’

‘Jesus.’ Ross was ecstatic. ‘Fucking hell.’ He put his hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath. ‘Guess this is working.’ He pulled his sleeve back and showed Joshua the friendship bracelet. Joshua smiled broadly. 

‘Or maybe it’s the falling in love that’s doing it.’ he said, a trifle smug at how Ross’ mouth fell open. ‘Come on, lad. Let’s go find your mother and she can deafen both of us.’

*********

‘Holy shit.’ Jim sat back and ran both hands through his hair. ‘I think I just aged ten years.’ 

‘Well best you de-age then.’ Emma said, slapping him on the knee. ‘Time to get to work, young man. That lot are done.’ 

That bought Jim back down to earth. They others dispersed to go and start their training round with him and Silver and Jim turned off his tablet and packed it away in his bag. Emma was already moving down the stairs and he followed, hefting his bag onto his shoulder. 

John was already at the bottom waiting for them and he gave Emma a smile, but it disappeared the minute she walked past him and Jim met his eyes as he looked up. They were pained, and Jim looked back as all his concern and worry came flooding back. 

‘John…’ he started, but Silver shook his head ever so slightly and walked off after Emma. 

Jim heaved a sigh and followed, a sinking feeling in his stomach.


	10. Crash and Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The consequences are coming back to haunt them.

Lunch turned into an extended Poldark family affair. Grace insisted on everyone going out and they were now sitting at a massive table at a seafood restaurant on the Ipanema beachfront. Demelza was having a whale of a time. Rose and Grace were next to each other, chattering non-stop and giggling like a pair of schoolgirls. Joshua was opposite them and he interjected every now and then to explain something or add a story to the growing collection that had been recounted. 

‘You’re screwed, mate.’ Enys was snickering into his wineglass. ‘Absolutely buggered.’ Next to Demelza, Ross glared at him.

‘Yes, I don’t really need you to point that out Dwight, thank you.’ he sniped and Demelza cackled. Ross turned around and directed the glare at her next. ‘And you can bloody shut up.’

‘Don’t blame me.’ she protested. ‘You wanted them to meet. All I did was engineer it.’

‘I think it’s lovely.’ Verity said. ‘Look how well they’re getting on.’ 

‘I absolutely agree.’ Elizabeth said. ‘I wish my parents and Charles got on half as well.’

‘That’s because my brother is a grumpy sod.’ Joshua said from down his end of the table and they all jumped. ‘I am far more relaxed.’

‘Like hell you are.’ Ross retorted. ‘Have you seen what you look like when something fucks up?’

‘I wouldn’t talk if I were you, Ross Vennor Poldark.’ Grace replied, leaning past Rose to look at him. ‘You’re a right moody bugger and when you’re both in a snit it’s like looking at twins.’

‘She’s got you there.’ Francis said. 

‘Better than being a curly haired pretty boy.’ Ross retorted and Verity snorted with laughter. 

‘Christ.’ she laughed. ‘You’re one to talk, Mr Broodily-looking-into-the-middle-distance-because-I-am-actually-a-little-short-sighted-and-too-vain-to-wear-my-glasses.’

‘He wears glasses?” Rose asked Grace who nodded.

‘Nice one, Vee.’ Francis said and high-fived his twin.

‘So you’re coming tonight?’ Rose asked Grace and she nodded. 

‘Absolutely.’ she replied and then directed herself to Ross. ‘What time are you going, sweetheart?’

‘As soon as I get back in.’ Ross said. ‘I’ll need to change and shower and stuff.’

‘Me too.’ Demelza said. 

‘Well, I tell you what.’ Grace said. ‘You and I can go shopping this afternoon and then come back to the house.’ This was to Rose. ‘And then we can go collect the kids.’ This was to Ross and Demelza. 

‘Sounds perfect.’ Rose was smiling broadly. 

‘See.’ Ross said to Demelza. ‘Look what you started.’

‘I take no responsibility whatsoever.’ she declared loftily. 

‘Just wait until we start planning the wedding.’ Grace said and her and Rose cracked up at the appalled look on Ross’ face.

**********

By half past two, Jim had made up his mind. He’d watched Silver battle through their training and he could tell that Emma was now suspicious as fuck. Which was why they were now in a closed room and Silver was yelling at both of them. 

‘I can do this!’ His voice was insistent. ‘You can’t pull us out now!’

‘John.’ Emma said, her face full of sympathy. ‘You’re not giving me very much of a choice here.’

‘Get the medics in then.’ Silver said. ‘They can look me over and give me clearance.’ 

Emma looked at Jim. Jim had his nails in his mouth, most of them now bitten down to the quick. He felt absolutely awful, mostly because he knew how badly Silver wanted to compete. He wanted it too, all his training over the last four years having bought him to this point. But he knew that if he let Silver compete injured and something worse happened that he would never be able to live with himself either. It was the reason he’d pulled Emma aside and told her just how bad Silver’s injury was, and that it wasn’t something that could just be taped up. 

‘Fuck!’ Silver threw his water bottle he’d been holding across the small room. ‘You can’t do this to me.’ His eyes were shiny when he looked back at them ‘This is probably my last chance. You both know that!’

‘Jesus.’ Emma sounded distraught. ‘Jim, go find a steward and get them to get someone down here.’ She looked back at John. ‘If, and only if, they clear you will I let you go out there.’

‘Thank you.’ Silver said. Jim could see how close to tears he was.

Jim looked at Emma and she gave him a nod. It took a few minutes to locate a competition official and explain the situation, but ten minutes later a doctor was in with Silver and Emma. She came out eventually and Jim went to the door and looked in. Silver had a new binding on his wrist and looked a lot happier. Emma, however, did not. 

‘They’re letting him compete.’ she said. ‘But the first sign anything is wrong and we’re pulling you two out.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Silver said insistently. ‘We’ll be fine.’ He shook his head. ‘We’ve both come too far to not do this. I owe both of you this.’

‘No you don’t.’ Jim said. ‘We’re a team John. Emma’s right. First sign and we’re out. I don’t care about the fucking medals or winning if it means you get hurt.’ He walked over to where John as leaning against the table. ‘You’re my best friend and you’re my partner. You mean a fuckload more to me than a piece of metal on a ribbon.’

‘Fuck.’ Silver’s face was downcast, and when he looked up at Jim his eyes were sad. ‘I am so sorry.’

‘It’s not you who should be apologising.’ Jim said. ‘It’s that wanker that knocked you off your bike.’ He shrugged. ‘So we don’t win. So fucking what.’ He smiled at him. ‘We got here. That’s the important thing. So we go out and we do one dive and if you hurt we go in. The end.’

John looked at him and then slowly nodded.

‘All right.’ he replied. 

***********

The aquatic centre was a lot fuller than it had been the previous day and they struggled to find a spot where they could all sit together. 

‘Shift up.’ Demelza said as she squashed in next to Ross. ‘Otherwise I can’t see.’ Rose and Grace had commandeered a pair of seats in front of them, and turned to look back at them. 

‘This is going to be very interesting.’ Grace said. ‘I’ve always watched it on the telly but I must confess I don’t really know much about it.

‘It’s easy, Mother.’ Ross said. ‘They jump off that thing up there into that thing down there.’ He chuckled as she batted at him and then turned back around. 

‘Bloody cheek.’ she said cheerfully. ‘And I was in labour for twenty-seven hours with the ungrateful little sod.’

‘They always think they know better.’ Rose said. ‘Christ, Jim was a nightmare. He was ridiculously precocious. I remember him getting excluded almost constantly one year because he kept making the teacher look like an idiot.’ Grace laughed.

‘When Ross was five he disappeared one afternoon.’ she said. ‘Josh had this big blue roan stallion called Wyvern, an absolute devil to ride. He made Bathsheba look like a lamb. Anyway we’re all looking for this brat,’ She jerked a thumb at her son behind her. ‘And we go down to the stables and find the little shit has managed to open the stall door and take Wyvern out. He was half way to the beach by the time we caught him, just riding along bareback, no bridle nothing. And the most amazing part was that horse doted on him. Huge bloody thing. Ross came up to his knees.’ She gave her son a fond smile over his shoulder. ‘Now he’s head and shoulders taller than me.’

An announcement that the competition was about to begin came over the loudspeaker and the noise in the centre died down. They settled into their seats and waited for the divers to come out.

‘So tonight is the important bit.’ Rose explained. ‘They have the semis which will take them to twelve pairs and then it’s a case of whoever gets the highest score. The order is still random though so that adds an element of excitement.’

‘Oh look.’ Demelza started bouncing. Her enthusiasm for diving had increased exponentially since the night before. ‘Here they come.’ They watched the presentation of the divers and Ross noticed that both Jim and Silver looked stern. He immediately knew something was still wrong and Rose looked back at him, her own expression reflecting what they both felt. 

‘They don’t look happy.’ Grace said and Ross was touched to hear the concern in her voice.

‘There was an issue last night.’ Ross said. ‘Jim told me that John was having problems with his wrist.’ It had been a hushed conversation before that quick kiss, a confirmation of what Rose had explained. He found himself chewing on his lower lip. ‘I just hope everything’s okay.’

They sat and listened to the announcers ran through the divers and this time when Jim and Silver were called there were none of the sunny smiles from before.

Ross stared as they filed off, his whole stomach now lurching as he realised just how serious things obviously were. The dive order went up and Jim and Silver were fourth on the list.

The first pair came out and started their climb up. Ross sat, elbows braced on his knees and watched the changing room door, eyes focused on where the divers came out. The next two pairs came out and then he felt his heart give a little skip as Jim and Silver appeared and started their preparations. He did notice the appearance of a black brace on Silver’s wrist.

‘Oh no.’ Rose said. ‘Oh dear, that’s really not good.’ 

For his part Ross couldn’t keep his eyes off Jim. He was a far cry from the bouncy cheerful person Ross had come to know (and…well maybe that too). He watched as they came back around, drying themselves off from the shower and started to climb.

*********

Jim knew that in normal circumstances his feelings were written all over his face. He also knew that word had spread faster than wildfire and he kept his expression neutral in the face of the inevitable speculation. Silver had retreated into himself, his sullenness not as remarkable because the other divers were used to him and his moods. Jim was the one they used as a barometer and he knew that his subdued manner was not going unnoticed. 

He climbed, drying off his hair and squeezing out the cloth before daring to look up towards the crowd. As much as he wanted to be optimistic, Jim knew that they were more than likely out and it hurt because he knew there were people up there that had come to watch him. More than that there was one person in particular that was giving up his rest night to do so. 

They got to the third level and the Chinese divers progressed out onto the platform. As usual the first dive was a low tariff, and in this case it was a simple straight forward dive to minimise injury. 

The Chinese did their single forward somersault flawlessly and the Mexicans went to take their place. Jim chucked his shammy over his shoulder and went to Silver who was shaking his ankles out. 

‘Hey.’ he said. ‘Whatever happens.’ He held out his fist and Silver’s smile flashed briefly. He gave Jim an answering bump with his good hand. 

‘We go down fighting.’ he replied. Then a look came over his face. ‘We’re out of it anyway. Want to make a splash?’

Jim looked at him. 

‘Are you sure?’ he asked. 

‘We’re not going to win.’ Silver said. ‘It would be a pity if your boyfriend didn’t get to see it.’ His smile was a bit less stiff now, a glint of mischief in his eyes. ‘You can at least get laid out of it.’ 

‘Fuck it.’ Jim was smiling now. ‘Let’s do it.’ Silver went to the steward standing on the level with them and spoke to the woman. She frowned and radioed down.

***********

The announcement came that there was going to be sight delay and Ross sat back in her chair. 

‘They’re done.’ she said. ‘If they’ve got the stewards involved that means they’re dropping out.’ She sounded bereft and Ross couldn’t help feeling the same. He was no stranger to this feeling of awful anticipation, the trot up being one of the most stressful experiences of an event rider’s life.

‘What will happen next?’ he asked and Rose shrugged.

‘I’m not sure.’ she replied and then caught her breath. ‘No, wait. Look they’re going up.’

***********

They came out onto the platform and took their places, chucking the shammies over the opposite sides and then moving back. They looked at each other and exchanged smiles.

‘Ready?’ Silver asked. 

‘Yeah.’ Jim replied. ‘Let’s do this.’ They both settled in, breathing deeply in time with each other and then Silver spoke.

‘One, two, three go.’ he said and they moved together perfectly, the little run up and the jump and landing and then the big push off the board and into the air, going head over heels into the first twist and then following through the next two and a half before straightening into the pike position for the two and a half turns. It felt good and when Jim hit the water he knew it was a fantastic dive, like everything he’d had had been put into it. And if it was to be his only dive of the night then that would just have to do. 

He surfaced and looked for Silver and saw that they were done. Silver’s face was creased in pain and he was holding his arm to his chest. Jim paddled over to him and they swam back together to the side where he helped Silver out. Two stewards were already there and Jim could see the same doctor that had checked Silver over earlier coming towards them. She got there and immediately took over. Jim let Silver go and got a wan smile thrown at him over one shoulder. He retrieved the two cloths floating in the water and then went to the showers, taking his time like he normally would and ignoring the storm that was suddenly unfolding around him. He paid no attention to the people around him, knowing that he and Silver were going to make one hell of a story the next day. 

Emma’s face said everything when he got to her. She was packing up her gear and getting ready to go with Silver.

‘They’re taking him back to the medical facility.’ she said. ‘But that was a fucking marvellous dive, James.’ She nodded behind him and Jim turned to see that the board read tens and nine point fives. He gave her a weak smile and walked into the changing room.

***********

The dive had been spectacular.

Ross had never seen anything so complex or so breathtaking. And then it had all crashed down. Silver had had to be hauled out the pool by Jim, and then whisked away by medical personnel. 

‘What will happen now?’ he asked and Rose sighed.

‘They’ll withdraw.’ she said. ‘That’s the end of their competition.’ 

‘God.’ Demelza was almost in tears. ‘That’s awful.’

‘It happens.’ Rose sounded resigned. ‘Nothing you can do if you take a bad fall.’

‘So true.’ Grace said. ‘God, I feel awful for them.’

‘Will Jim go with them?’ Ross asked and Rose shook her head. 

‘I doubt it.’ she said. ‘Emma will. Jim is probably packing up and he’ll go back to the village.’ She looked at him, her blue eyes sad. ‘He’ll be pretty upset, even though he won’t show it. He always is when something like this happens.’ Her eyes spoke to him and Ross knew what he had to do. He got up and started walking out of the stand. The other three watched him go.

‘Between you and me,’ Grace said to Rose. ‘I think our sons are in love.’

‘And between you and me, I completely agree.’ Rose replied.

*********

Ross made his way down. He had a rough idea of where everything was and he was still wearing his athlete’s pass. The stewards allowed him into the athlete’s area below the stands to wait for Jim and he heard the announcement of his and Silver’s withdrawal from the competition over the loud speaker. 

He stood, bouncing on his feet, and watched as a now-dressed Jim came out of the change room with his bag over his shoulder. He had to walk around the outside and got a cheer from the crowds which he acknowledged with a wry smile and a raised hand. 

He got to the end of the pool and looked up. His face when he saw Ross was everything that Ross needed to know. 

‘Hey.’ he said and Ross could hear the shake in his voice. He didn’t hesitate. He went straight to Jim and enfolded him in his arms just like he’d done in the lift that morning. 

‘I’m so sorry, babe.’ he said into his hair, still damp from the pool, the endearment coming out without even thinking. ‘What can I do?’ Jim sighed and looked up at him. 

‘I just want to get the fuck out of here.’ he said and Ross nodded. He stepped back and took Jim’s bag from him, hauling it over his shoulder and then took his hand. 

‘All right.’ he said. ‘Then let’s get the fuck out of here.’

The shuttle took them straight back and they went in and upstairs. They dropped Jim’s bag off at his unit and Jim seemed about to sit down on the bed when Ross intercepted him. 

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he asked and Jim looked up at him. 

‘You have the jumping tomorrow.’ he said. ‘You need to go rest and sleep.’

‘It’s not even six.’ Ross said. ‘And I’m not letting you sit here and mope.’

‘Fuck.’ Jim rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. ‘Motherfucking cocksucking bastard luck.’ He raked his fingers through his hair then looked at Ross. ‘What did you have in mind?’ 

‘Well, you’re now no longer competing and I very much doubt that I anything consume is going to catastrophically increase my weight tonight so I say we go hit Macdonalds.’ Ross said. ‘And when we’re done I’m going to bring you back here and fuck you until you’re too stupid to think about what just happened.’ He had no ideas why those words had just come out of his mouth, but it seemed like a good idea. Jim stared at him as if he’d gone off the deep end. Then the corners of his mouth quirked and his dimples flickered.

‘You’re fucking crazy, Poldark.’ he said, but the smile didn’t go away.

‘Think of it as a first date with just the two of us.’ Seeing Jim’s smile was worth making an idiot of himself Ross decided. 

‘You’re taking me for free junk food I shouldn’t even be looking at for our first date without our parents.’ The sarcasm was leaking back in and Ross was so delighted to hear it he couldn’t stop smiling. 

‘I know.’ he said. ‘Romantic as fuck. Now go get showered and dressed and I’ll meet you back here in half an hour.’ He stopped to lean down and kiss Jim before he could protest.

‘Do I need to dress up?’ Jim asked. 

‘No.’ Ross said. ‘The second half of our date involves no clothes so the less you wear the better.’ He grinned as he left the room. ‘Easy access, Hawkins. Don’t forget the first principal of fucking.’

‘Hey.’ Jim was now smiling properly as he hung out the bedroom door. ‘I’ll have you know I’m not that easy.’

‘But I am.’ Ross laughed as he left the unit. 

A half hour later, he was back. Jim was waiting for him, now in jeans and that damnable navy blue hoodie that Ross had such happy memories of. He looked a lot happier, the stress gone from his face. They walked down to the concession together and Ross noticed how a few people came over and commiserated. News travelled fast in the village. They got to the Macdonalds and got their food - Big Macs, fries and milkshakes. They took it and ventured out into the eerily manicured gardens of the Village. It was only seven o-clock and the place was still buzzing. 

‘Fuck.’ Jim said. ‘I fucking love this shit.’ He had inhaled his fries and was now started on his burger. Ross was horribly taken with how enthusiastically he was consuming it. 

‘So that whole thing happened pretty quickly.’ he said. ‘I get that.’

‘I know you do.’ Jim replied. ‘I would imagine that if you have a fall it’s pretty much you done, not just because you get eliminated. I have to say you kind of made me shit myself a couple of times yesterday on your behalf when you almost came off.’

‘It’s not as scary as jumping from ten feet in the air.’ Ross said. He sipped his milkshake. ‘I am sorry it turned out like it did.’

‘That’s the breaks, right?’ Jim said. He was looking at the scar on Ross’ face. ‘When you fell was it the end of your competition?’

‘Not just the competition. I was out for three months.’ Ross replied. ‘I broke my collar bone and wrist as well. But it wasn’t the Olympics.’

‘I’ll live.’ Jim said. He’d finished his burger and was cleaning his hands off with the paper napkins, then balled them and chucked them at the bin a few feet from them. The napkins went in and he smiled. ‘Just another four years to go. Besides, now I focus on individuals. I’m not out of it yet.’ He sucked hard on the straw of his milkshake, draining it with a loud noise and then chucking it into the bin as well and got up. ‘Now hurry up. You promised to fuck me stupid remember, and by my count you owe me a blow job.’ He grinned. ‘Think if it as a way to stop me from sliding into depression.’ 

‘I’m starting to realise you’re a little fucked in the head.’ Ross said. 

‘So long as I also get fucked in the arse that’s fine by me.’ Jim replied and moved into his space, taking the milkshake from Ross’ hand, setting it down and kissing him on the mouth. His words made Ross laugh even as Jim was sliding his tongue into his mouth.

They practically galloped to the unit and continued snogging in the lift on the way up. 

‘You room or mine?’ Jim asked, hands tugging Ross t-shirt out of his jeans so he could slide his hands underneath it. 

‘Yours.’ Ross said. ‘I’m presuming Silver’s going to be a while.’

‘It’s more than likely a re-fracture or ligament damage.’ Jim replied. ‘They’ll x-ray it and strap it up and give him a whole bunch of pain killers.’ He was now working on Ross’ belt and Ross wasn’t even thinking about stopping him, even though they were still in the lift. ‘He’ll probably be back in an hour or two. I’ll leave him a note to sleep on the sofa. He prefers that anyway and he owes me for the whole not-winning-a-medal thing.’ The doors opened and he whipped Ross’ belt out with an impressive snap then wrapped it around Ross’ neck like a lasso. ‘So come on, Poldark. We have to make sure you get your eight hours and by my count it’s eight o’clock which means two whole hours of sex.’ He led him out the lift and to his door, opening it and stomping inside. Flint and Gunn were still at the aquatics centre to support Tom and Dan so the whole place was empty. 

They crashed through the door to Jim’s room, desperately trying to get each other’s clothes off. The shoes, socks and tops were fine, the jeans less so. Ross was trying to kick his off and kiss Jim at the same time and ended up sprawling very ungracefully on the bed. Jim laughed at him and stripped off his boxers and disappeared into the bathroom, coming back with the lube and a handful of the now infamous Olympics condoms. He put them on the bedside table and bent to grab Ross’ jeans by the legs and haul them off. Ross lay still and looked at him. There was still just enough light in the room to see by and he stared shamelessly at Jim’s naked body, his cock hard and pointing skyward. 

‘You’re so fucking hot.’ he said. 

‘Yeah?’ Jim grinned as he got hold of Ross boxers and pulled them down and Ross kicked them off the rest of the way. He climbed onto him, straddling Ross’s hips. ‘Hot enough to fuck me against that wall like you threatened to?’

‘Jesus fuck.’ Ross flexed his abs and sat up to catch Jim around the waist and pull him down onto him. There was a moment of magnificent friction as their cocks aligned and then Jim was kissing him. He was abandoned, his tongue in Ross’ mouth and his hands tangled in Ross’ hair. He was moving just enough to drive Ross crazy and Ross grabbed his backside in both hands and thrust up against him. 

The kiss quickly devolved into nothing more than them licking at each other frantically until they were breathless. Ross pulled away first, kissing and biting not so gently at Jim’s neck while Jim scrabbled around on the bedside table for the lube. He managed to twist enough to get hold of it and Ross waited for him before he dragged his mouth back to his. Jim went happily, moaning as Ross sucked on his lower lip. 

‘Fuck.’ he breathed. ‘Here.’ He caught Ross’ hand and gave him the lube. Ross laid it to one side on the bed next to him and lowered Jim enough so he was leaning back and licked at one nipple. Jim put one hand at the back of Ross' neck to steady himself and moaned. Ross smiled against his skin and licked again, trailing his tongue over it until it was hard under his mouth and then sucking on it. The air got briefly knocked out of him when he felt Jim’s hand go around both of them, the strokes short and quick because of the precarious position they were doing it in, but he didn’t let go, his hands splayed across Jim’s back to support him. He switched out to the other nipple, leaving a wet trail as his mouth moved across the smooth skin of Jim’s chest and as he licked he looked down to see Jim had his head back, mouth open as he panted and he tightened one arm around him. He bought his right hand up and trailed it across Jim’s mouth and Jim took him in, sucking on the two fingers Ross stuck in his mouth and making noises that made Ross’ blood catch fire. He pulled Jim back in and Jim took the cue, shifting his weight to his knees which were balanced on either side of Ross’ thighs. He let go as Ross trailed the spit-wet fingers down his backside and traced them over his entrance, biting down on Ross’ shoulder when he rubbed over it. He eased the tip of his middle finger in and Jim jolted in his arms. 

Yes…’ His moan was desperate. Ross let him go and bragged the lube, uncapping it and squeezing it directly onto Jim’s skin. He went back, working it in slowly with one finger, looking up at how Jim was staring at him while he concentrated. His pupils were blow wide and he kissed Ross as the finger went back inside him, all the way in this time. Ross kept his eyes open, both of they looking at each other through the kiss. When Jim pulled away from him it was to whisper ‘More.’ In his ear and Ross eased his forefinger in alongside the first one. Jim was moving in his lap, gentle undulations that pushed him back onto Ross’ fingers. He looked down and Ross followed his gaze to their cocks, trapped between their bodies. He watched as Jim gently caught the beaded pre-come on the tip of his cock and licked it off his finger as delicately as a cat. It was accompanied by a mock innocent stare and Ross growled at him and sank his fingers in hard and Jim whined and took them. He reached down, picking up one of the condoms and tore it open, spitting out the foil corner as he extracted the condom and out it on Ross, the light touches almost pushing Ross over the edge. He gritted his teeth as Jim used the lube to slick him up and then ran a handful over his own cock as well, wiping the excess off on the duvet and lifting up. He reached back around him and grabbed Ross’ wrist and pushed him in as deep as he could go then lifted so Ross’ fingers slipped out of him. The next move down bought them into contact and Jim pushed down and Ross went in easily. 

‘Fuck.’ It came out choked. 

‘I know.’ Jim was smiling, his dimples deep. ‘Fuck, you feel good.’ He shifted and Ross felt him tighten around his cock. ‘I love it when you’re deep like this.’ He was moving again and Ross let him control it. All he could feel was how good it felt, tight and hot and slick from all the lube. He reached for Jim, getting him under the thighs and shifting so they were now on the edge of the bed and he could put his feet on the floor. It jostled Jim in his lap and he let out a harsh noise. 

‘What are you doing?’ he panted and Ross smiled at him.

‘What you asked.’ he replied and Jim’s eyes went wide.

‘I was only joking.’ he protested. ‘I really didn’t…’ He cried out as he never got to finish that thought, Ross bracing and standing up and taking him with him.

He was a lot stronger than he looked, the elegant lines of his body hiding a strength that could control a stroppy animal about five times his mass. Jim was a sturdy compact weight in his arms, and he locked his own around Ross’ neck and his legs around Ross’ hips as Ross carried him to the nearest wall and braced them both against it. It gave him enough leverage to really drive in hard and deep and he did. 

‘Oh God…’ Jim had his head back against the wall. ‘Ross. Fuck yes, like that.’ His nails were digging into Ross’ shoulders and he now knew why all the lube. Jim’s cock was trapped between them and the friction from their bodies was making him buck in Ross’ arms. 

‘You like this?’ he panted, shifting to get a better angle and then thrusting in as hard as he could. He looked at Jim, their eyes locking. 

‘Yes.’ Jim replied, barely able to get the words out. ‘Don’t stop.’ 

‘I won’t.’ Ross felt like his whole body was overheating, every part of him super sensitised to even the slightest touch of Jim’s skin against his. They fell silent, the only sounds their incoherent moans as they fucked. Ross slowed down and sped up by turns, until his back and thighs were burning with the effort. 

‘Fuck.’ Jim was starting to shake in his arms. ‘Ross please…’ His cries started going up in volume and Ross could feel his body starting to bear down around him. 

‘That’s it.’ He stuck his face in Jim’s neck, licking at his sweat drenched skin and breathing in his smell. ‘Come on me.’ He pulled back and Jim was smiling at him.

‘Come in me first.’ he replied and then kissed him. Ross let him in, the kiss a mess of tongues and saliva as he let himself go, chasing his orgasm until Jim clenched around him once and it was enough to make him crash over, the high better than anything else he’d experienced. He felt Jim come around him a moment later, their combined climaxes carrying them through their aftershocks until Ross felt like his legs were going to give out at any second. He slowed down and then stopped and eased himself out. Jim was panting, the muscles in his thighs flexing as Ross gently set him down. He rested his forehead against Jim’s as they battled to breathe and focus enough on each other to make it to the bed. They ended up sprawled in a mess of arms and legs. Ross snapped off the condom and launched it at the bin in the corner, but he missed completely and it rebounded off the wall making Jim laugh.

See, now when I think about it there’s really no comparison.’ he said, still out of breath.

‘What are you talking about?’ Ross rolled onto his side and looked at him and Jim smiled and raised his hand, fingers trailing across Ross’ mouth. 

‘Between winning and doing this. If I had to choose, I think I’d choose you Poldark.’ he whispered and Ross’ stomach turned over. He crashed back into Jim, the kiss so hard their teeth clashed. Jim responded, turning onto his back so Ross could fit between his legs with both of them mindless of the stickiness on their skin. It was barely minutes afterwards, but Ross could feel how strong the urge was to just take and take until, there was nothing left they could do. 

‘I want to fuck you again.’ he said, surprised at his own bluntness.

‘I also want you to fuck me again.’ Jim replied. ‘I want you to come in me so many times I’m just s fucking mess.’ He was gripping Ross’ wrist firmly, guiding his hand down between his legs. ‘But this will do until you can get it up.’ Ross laughed and slipped his fingers back inside him, and Jim whined into his neck. 

‘Harder.’ It was barely audible but Ross did as he asked, pumping his hand in a steady rhythm. He felt along until he found what he was looking for and Jim arched up against him. He had a hand on Ross’ cock, gently stroking. 

It took about ten minutes for Ross to get hard again. Jim was gone, writhing against Ross’ hand and equally hard. Ross watched him, tracking the emotions flying across Jim’s face and listening to his moans. He started to kiss the line of Jim’s shoulder, slowly mapping his way across Jim’s chest and down, never slowing the movements of his hand until he was level with Jim’s cock. He leaned in a little and licked up along it, repeating the action a few times as he got the taste of him. Ross wanted to draw this out, keep Jim in that place he’d gotten lost in, and he used the tip of his tongue on the next pass up, working it against the sensitive spot just under the head. 

‘Jesus fuck.’ Jim was bowing off the bed with every lick. His legs were splayed open and Ross looked at the wanton picture he made, cock shiny with pre-come and saliva and Ross’ fingers moving in and out of him. He moved to take the head of Jim’s cock in his mouth, sucking softly and feeling shivers go through him when one of Jim’s hands landed on his head and tugged at his hair.

‘Pull harder.’ he instructed before taking him in again and going deep, nose brushing Jim’s stomach with every movement down. Jim complied, tugging harder and making Ross whine around his cock. He could taste the salt on his tongue, feel the way it throbbed in his mouth and knew that Jim was close. 

‘Ross…’ Jim’s voice was stretched tight. ‘I’m coming…’ Ross lifted his head for just a moment.

‘In my mouth.’ he panted and took him down and seconds later Jim came hard and Ross swallowed it, the acrid taste of Jim’s cum catching him at the back of his throat. When he finally lifted his head it was to see a condom being brandished at him. 

‘Get inside me.’ Jim said. Ross sat up and saw how the dim light was catching on his skin, slick with sweat and everything else. ‘Now.’ He took the condom from him and opened it with trembling fingers and rolled it on. Jim watched him, his eyes glazed over, and Ross moved to position himself, thrusting in and moving so he was on his knees, thighs spread to take the strain of thrusting. Jim hooked his thighs over Ross’ legs and put both hands on his backside to pull Ross in.

Ross went slow this time, rolling his hips and keeping his strokes deep. Underneath him Jim simply stared back at him, panting and smiling every time Ross hit him just right. It took longer, the edge of Ross’ need dulled by the previous knock-out of an orgasm and he could focus enough to appreciate the play of muscles in Jim’s stomach, the way his chest heaved to draw one stilted breath after another. But it was his expressions that Ross loved the most, the pleasure there so easy to read and his body so responsive that Ross could see every touch reflected in his eyes as they watched each other.

‘’You’re so beautiful.’ he murmured and Jim laughed softly.

‘Keep talking, Poldark.’ he breathed back. ‘You’re going the right way to making me fall for you.’ Ross smiled at that and gave a sharp little snap of his hips which made Jim bite his lip.

‘I thought you had already.’ he replied and Jim’s gold brows drew down slightly. 

‘I don’t want to scare you off.’ he sounded oddly reticent. ‘A lot of guys run for the hills the second you start saying the l-word.’

‘Lesbians?’ Ross couldn’t resist and the delightful smile he got in return was worth the old joke. ‘Maybe you should try it and see.’

‘No.’ Jim moaned, a long drawn out sound. ‘You first.’ He shifted. ‘Although I am not afraid to absolutely declare my love for your mouth.’

‘Believe me, it loves you right back.’ Ross replied. It was getting harder to control himself now, and he dropped down onto his elbows, speeding up his thrusts and feeling Jim lock his ankles at the small of his back. He put his face in Jim’s neck and let himself fly, his climax deeper and more reverberating this time. Jim held onto him as he also came, letting Ross fuck out his aftershocks and then kissing his neck repeatedly, the light touches bringing Ross back. They lay like that for minutes, neither one wanting to move until finally Ross realised that Jim had come again between them and that they were now in serious danger of getting stuck together. 

‘You’ve got some serious moves, Poldark.’ Jim said as they extricated themselves from their tangle. 

‘And you’re ridiculously orgasmic.’ Ross said, scraping some of Jim’s cum off his skin and sucking it off his finger. ‘Not that I’m complaining.’ He stood up off the bed and stretched. ‘Fuck, I’m so loose now you could probably fold me in half.’

‘Like ferrets.’ Jim said absently and Ross gave him a quizzical look.

‘What?’ he asked and that made Jim focus enough to look up at him. He was a wonderful sight, spread-eagled on the bed and his hair a mess. Ross looked down at the shine on Jim’s inner thighs and found himself wishing it was his cum making Jim wet rather than the lube and then that thought got kicked out in favour of considering how hot it would be to lick it out of Jim’s arse. 

'Ferrets.' Jim replied, frowning at him. 'You can bend them in half. Why? What are you thinking about?"

‘Ideas for another time.’ he said. ‘When we get back and can get checked.’ Jim laughed. 

‘You’re a twisted filthy bastard.’ he said. ‘I think it’s one of the things I love most about you.’ He smirked. ‘That and your magnificent cock.’

‘You just used the l-word.’ Ross pointed out, heading for the bathroom.

‘Well, don’t let it go to your head.’ Jim called after him.

**********

Another two rounds later and it was declared time for bed. 

Ross floated down to the ninth floor a little after ten and went into their unit. True to form, another poker game was in session although this one was being played with Smarties and not matches as previously. There was a strict ‘no money’ gambling policy during the Olympics. 

‘God, look at the fucking state of you.’ Francis said. ‘Just how many times did you fuck him?’

Ross grinned and held up four fingers as he came over, stole a handful of Smarties and then headed for bed.

Will shook his head after the door was closed and looked at Francis.

‘That boy’s in love.’ he said and Francis chuckled. 

‘Don’t we fucking know it?’ he replied. ‘Grace is already checking out wedding venues.’

‘Well let’s hope it plays in his favour tomorrow.’ Will said. ‘It would be nice for at least one of us to get something.' The rest of the eventing team had had a shocker of a day around the Rio course with refusals and time penalties and the team was effectively out of it. 

‘He’s so fucking high right now, he could probably jump the course by himself.’ Francis replied and they all laughed and carried on playing.


	11. Jump (For My Love)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last event for the...well, eventing.

The trot up had been in progress for a half hour already and Enys and Joshua were standing with a nervous looking Prudie at the side of the enclosure, all dressed in their Team GB gear of dark blue chinos and white polo shirts with their tags around their necks and their blue caps on. Ross had Bathsheba with him and was waiting his turn to trot her in front of the committee that would asses her fitness for the jumping and decide whether she would be allowed to compete. It was an important part of the competition to ensure that the horses were fit and not nursing any injuries.

He was dressed in his dark blue suit with a white open collared shirt and the friendship bracelet was tied securely around his left wrist. He toyed with it absently as he watched the horse and rider in front of him waited to lead Bathsheba in front of the three judges that would scrutinise them both. The other Team GB riders had gone deliberately casual but Ross knew he had a chance at actually winning something and wanted to make the best possible impression. He was in fourth place after the cross country, still behind the Australians, but he knew that that could all change with the jumping round. He was good at this, and so was Bathsheba. Joshua had harboured hopes for both of them to turn pro-jumper like the rest of the family but Ross had wanted to do something different. The steward in front of him consulted his clipboard as the horse in front was led away and then gestured for Ross to start their run. 

He led Bathsheba into the trot-up box. She, like him, was dressed up to look her best with her tail neatly braided and her mane tied in a perfect row of knots along her neck. Her black coat was gleaming almost blue in the sunlight and the pattern on her hindquarters today was the English rose, brushed in and set with precision by Prudie’s expert hand. Ross led her to the starting point and set off at a gentle jog. Bathsheba trotted alongside him, and Ross was thankful his legs were long enough to keep up with her. They trotted past the judges until the end, Bathsheba’s shoes catching the light as she picked her feet up neatly. Ross was pleased. He could feel she was going strongly but he kept himself composed. He got to the end and the judges moved to convene. Ross watched them, his heart beating a little quicker than normal both from the jog and the nerves he was felling. His fingers strayed to the bracelet again and he took a deep breath. 

He’d slept well, better than he could remember sleeping. His evening with Jim and the settled grounded way he made Ross feel had made him fall asleep almost instantly and he’d woken that morning with a smile and the feeling that he was invincible. 

The steward came back to him to tell him that Bathsheba had passed the trot-up and was cleared to jump and he let out the breath and smiled. He walked her out of the area and back towards the stalls. Joshua and Enys were waiting for him, their own smiles reflecting the relief they felt that she had passed. 

‘Go get changed.’ Joshua said, taking Bathsheba’s reins. ‘We’ll get the lovely lady sorted out.’ Ross nodded and headed off to put his jumping gear on. 

*********

The alarm went off and Jim woke up enough to reach for his phone and fumble it off. Across from him, Silver mumbled something into the bed and turned over. 

The dive team had come back in a state of mild delirium because Tom and Dan had won bronze. An impromptu party had started with conga lines and punch and Jim had put his happy face on and gone because they were a team and that was what they did. Silver and Emma had come back and it had turned into quite a lot of fun. Now though, Jim had a headache and a mild hangover from three cups of punch and the fact that he hadn’t had a drink for months.

‘What time is the jumping?’ Silver asked from the depths of his bed. 

‘It starts at ten.’ Jim said, dragging himself out of bed. ‘Fuck, I hate this.’ He made groaning noises all the way to the shower and turned on the water and stuck his head under it until it started to clear then got in and washed himself off. He was brushing his teeth when there was a knock at the door. 

‘Jim?’ It was Flint’s voice. ‘Your ride’s here.’ There was snickering. 

‘Coming.’ he yelled back, spitting and rinsing and drying his face off as he went back in. Flint and Demlza were now sitting on the end of Silver’s bed. He and Gunn had their preliminaries that afternoon.

‘Oh my.’ Demelza said, grinning at Jim’s half naked body. ‘Look at that.’ She pointed at a very distinct set of finger marks that dotted the pale skin of his hip that was normally covered by his speedo. ‘Here, you’ll need this.’ She hurled a folded red t-shirt on her lap at him. Jim glared at her and went to grab the rest of his clothes. Once he was dressed and ready, they left the building and joined the other three at the bottom.

‘All set.’ Demelza announced. Jim saw that they were all wearing the same t-shirts and started laughing. 

‘Also,’ Verity was digging in a massive tote bag she had over one shoulder. She took out a bundle of Union flags and handed them out and Jim saw that they were all tying them around their necks like capes.

‘You lot don’t do things by halves.’ he said. 

‘And face painting on the shuttle.’ Elizabeth said, straightening Francis’ flag. 

It proved to be a bit tricky but she had a steady hand and by the time they got to Deodoro they all had a miniature Union flag painted on their cheekbones. They flashed their athlete’s passes at the entrance and walked in. Jim had Demelza on one side and Verity on the other, arms linked through his and telling him all the gossip about the various riders they saw. Behind them, Elizabeth was riding Francis piggy back and giggling as she made him gallop past them. They found their seats and Jim smiled as his mother turned around and waved at him. Grace had snuck them into the athletes’ area and the two of them raised what was undoubtedly a pair of mimosas in plastic champagne glasses as they got to them.

‘Morning all.’ Grace said smiling at them. ‘Dig in, there’s plenty for everyone.’ She had a cooler box at her feet, and Jim saw that it was filled with the aforementioned orange juice bottles and a an open one of champagne. She started making up more cocktails and handing them back. He demurred and got given a bottle of plain juice instead.

‘You okay, chicken?’ Rose took Jim’s hand and pulled him down next to her.

‘I’m fine.’ he said.

‘What about John?’ she asked and Jim shrugged. 

‘He’s flying back tomorrow afternoon.’ he said. ‘Emma’s got him seeing a specialist then he gets back to London.’

‘Well, you’ve still got finals.’ she said and he nodded. 

‘I have a bit of a hangover from last night to be honest.’ he said. ‘You’re right though. But I have five days to get my head back in the right place.’ 

‘It sounded like a wild party last night.’ Demelza said, grinning again. ‘And I’m sure that whatever you and Ross were up to beforehand cheered you right up.’

‘You should know because you were there.’ Jim said turning around and looking at her. ‘And I wouldn’t talk if I were you because I heard you and Flint going at it till four this morning. Christ knows how Gunn got any sleep, or was he spectating?’

‘Oh really?’ Verity turned her dark eyes on a now blushing Demelza. Demelza glared at him.

‘I hate you.’ she hissed.

‘You make fun of my sex antics and I tell them all about your multiple orgasms that were so loud you woke John up.’ Jim replied sweetly. ‘And he had taken Diazepam.’

‘Dear God.’ Grace said to Rose. ‘He’s like one of us already.’ 

They sat down, Jim next to Rose and Demelza and verity on the other side of her. They were all in the front row and had an excellent view of the arena. The sandy ground led right up to the stands and the main section was enclosed by a low white picket fence, much like the dressage area had been.

‘Christ, there’s so many.’ Jim said. He was counting the fences. ‘And they’re so big.’

‘Fifteen fences and eighty-three seconds to jump them in.’ Francis said from behind him. ‘It’s going to be tight.’

‘And they’re not as big as our fences.’ Verity added. ‘But we also haven’t done an additional two events. It’s why Ross and Bathsheba are both so fit.’

‘Those are terrifying.’ Jim was looking at the triple combination just in front of where they were sitting. 

‘It’s fairly standard.’ Verity said. ‘It tests the rider’s ability to control their mount and make sure the strides are perfect. It’s really about reading the course and the skill in controlling the way you jump it.’

‘They’ll be in for the walk through in a few minutes.’ Grace said, checking her watch.

‘Actually they’re already here.’ Francis replied and pointed at the entrance gate just to their right at the corner of the stand. 

Jim leaned over to see the group of riders starting to trail in for their last walk through of the course before the jumping event started. He looked for a familiar tall frame and then smiled as he spotted him. Ross was dressed for jumping, white breeches and shirt contrasting beautifully with the long black boots. He wasn’t wearing his helmet yet, just a pair of black wayfarers, and his curls were a messy dark tumble around his face. Jim stared at him, his heart bumping along happily. 

He watched as Ross and another tall rider also dressed in the GB colours walked from jump to jump, stopping occasionally to talk. It was only as they got to the triple that Ross realised they were there and looked up, which was the cue for a whole lot of furious waving. He looked directly at Jim and smiled, holding up his left hand so Jim could catch a glimpse of red, white and blue. Jim smiled back at him. 

The riders left the arena and they all sat back to watch. It was going to be a full day event, with the team jumping up first. Then the twenty-five top scoring riders would go through to the final ride off to determine the three individual medallists. 

‘Explain it to me again.’ Jim said and took a crisp from the bag Demelza was offering him. 

‘It works like this.’ Verity explained. ‘In this round there are more fences but they are lower. In the individual round there are fewer fences but they can be up to 1.30 metres.’ 

‘Every time a pole gets knocked down, it’s four faults.’ Elizabeth added. ‘And if you go over the time allowed then you get time penalties as well. All of that gets added to the score.’

‘The team with the best overall score, after all the riders are added together wins and then silver and bronze are placed after them.’ Verity said. ‘The riders with the best individual scores go through to the individual round.’

‘Right now Ross is lying fifth.’ Grace said. ‘He rode an absolute blinder yesterday. That means all he has to do is hold his nerve through this and he could well get a medal.’

‘What about the team?’ Jim asked. 

‘It’s unlikely.’ Grace said. ‘The other three didn’t do particularly well at the cross country so overall GB is currently tenth in the standings. The other riders would have to bugger up royally for them to win.’ She gave Jim a sympathetic smile. ‘I heard what happened yesterday, so you know that if one of you goes down…’

‘You all go down.’ Jim finished. ‘Yeah, I know.’ He looked back at the course. ‘Can he do it?’ 

‘He should be able to.’ Grace said. ‘Ross has been jumping since he started riding and he would have made an amazing show jumper.’

‘He trains with us so he’s used to bigger fences.’ Francis said. ‘And Christ knows he has no regard for his personal safety.’ They all chuckled and Jim gave Demelza a quizzical look.

‘He kind of throws the two of them around.’ she said. ‘It’s very exciting but a little terrifying to watch.’

Well, now that sounds familiar.’ Rose said, looking at Jim pointedly. ‘Like me every time you do an inward dive.’ She turned to Grace. ‘I swear it’s his mission in life to make sure the distance between his head and board is small enough to give me a coronary.’

The announcers came over the loudspeaker to announce the jumping order. The riders that were their country’s sole representatives would go first and then it would be the teams. Great Britain was only due to start at 11. 

‘Now, watch carefully.’ Demelza said to him. ‘You’ll pick it up quickly.’

*********

Ross was sitting in the waiting area. There was a big screen set up for them to watch the other rounds. He had his jacket over the back of his chair and a cup of tea in front of him, much to the amusement of the others. 

‘It’s so bloody hot.’ Enys grumbled. He hated the heat and had a lemonade in front of that was more ice than liquid.

‘Looks like they’re starting.’ Joshua said and they all turned their attention to the screen. 

**********

There were nine individual riders and Jim watched as they all came in one after another and jumped their rounds, wincing every time a fence went down and getting grins from the two girls. That done, it was time for the team rounds. The countries would alternate and he already knew that Ross was the first up for Great Britain. That meant he would be the fourth rider coming in. There as a short break, the sand of the arena being flattened back out, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach starting to wake up and stretch. 

The first to go was an Australian rider and they did very well, going clear and comfortably in the time. They would be followed by a German, then a Swedish rider an American and finally it was time for Ross. 

**********

Ross walked to the standing area to get ready, pulling on his gloves and then fastening the chin strap of his helmet that he’d out on before he left the waiting area. Prudie had Bathsheba there, booted and saddled and waiting. He could see that the mare was relaxed and eager to get up. She nickered at him and he smiled and gave her a quick pat before mounting up and walking her through to the collecting ring just behind the arena. Joshu, Enys and Prudie followed him. They would sit in the stands while he jumped and then return with him to the waiting area while Prudie took Bathsheba to go cool off. 

Bathsheba was moving well, her walk fluid and he could feel the energy bubbling up inside her. She’s had a good rest the night before as he had, and he was optimistic about the course and how she would take to it. There were some challenges and some tight corners, but they thrived on that. 

They went into the collecting ring, and he moved her into a trot to loosed her muscles and warm her up while they waited. The rider I front of him trotted out, and they exchanged brief wishes of luck. She rode off to go and jump her round and that gave Ross a few minutes to settle himself. He breathed evenly, feeling the calm steal over him as he kicked Bathsheba from a trot to a canter, popping her over the small fences which had been set up for that purpose. 

There were cheers from the arena and it was their turn. Ross gathered up the reins and turned Bathsheba out and she trotted obediently out of the collecting ring and to the waiting point where the stewards were standing. The other three were behind him and they passed and wished him luck. Joshua was last and he put his hand on Ross’ thigh. 

‘Good luck, lad.’ he said and Ross smiled at him. ‘Ride like hell and get her around clear.’

‘I’ll do my best.’ he replied. The previous rider was coming out and Joshua gave Bathsheba a slap on the bum and they trotted in. 

The stands were now fairly full, and Ross’ gave went automatically to the corner and the collection of smiles he was getting. He let Bathsheba move out, then stopped to nod to acknowledge the judges, before kicking Bathsheba into a trot. 

He took her in a turn around the outside, waiting for the bell to signal the start of the round. From that moment on he would only have those eighty-three seconds to complete the round and get as few faults as possible. It sounded and he turned spurred her on to a canter, making another circuit before turning her in towards the first jump, a double spread and gathered Bathsheba in, making sure her head was up so she could see the jump in front of her. The concern with doing this on the third day was that the horses would be tired and that usually meant they weren’t paying attention, would let their legs drop or not pick them up enough in front and that meant fences coming down. Bathsheba was thankfully a very forward going horse so it was simply minimising mistakes of the landing that Ross would have to worry about. Her long stride could also be tricky when they had combinations and that was where he came in, guiding her through the jumps and over the fences with the correct number of strides between.

Bathsheba pricked her ears and took off well, setting the clock ticking, her front feet clearing the striped poles and then flicking her heels as he landed, leaving the fence intact. Ross kept her on the same line to the next one, an upright gate that was a little more deceptive than it looked and leading riders to allow their horses to slow down, which inevitably resulted in the horse kicking it out. He gave her a kick and she responded by sailing over it. There was a left hand turn to the next jump and Ross kept it tight, always mindful of the time as they circled around another jump to bring them into line. This one was another two bar spread, but Bathsheba’s long body was built for jumps like these and it caused her no problems. 

The next was another upright, but again it was a gate and painted white this time, a colour that Bathsheba detested. Ross tightened the reins, and Bathsheba snorted and twisted, fighting him for control briefly. She tried to put her head down and he’d only just wrestled it back up when they got to the fence and Bathsheba twisted as she went over it. Ross winced as he heard the sickening sound of her hind hooves clipping the top piece and glanced over his shoulder for a second, half expecting to see it down but it had fortunately held. 

They took the next spread easily and Ross took her into another very tight turn, again to the left, and bought her around to line up for the triple pole upright. The entire arena was perfectly quiet, the only sound that of Bathsheba snorting as she exerted herself. They jumped it and then it was the first combination, an upright and then a double spread with a very short two strides between them. He knew that it was going to be challenging and the second they took off for the upright Ross knew that it wasn’t quite right. The way they landed only gave them room for one and Bathsheba took off early, drawing a gasp from the crowd as it looked like she’d basically landed and bounced off again from between the two jumps. She heaved herself over the spread and it was only through sheer luck that they didn’t have it down.

They wheeled around to the right and another spread, this one a bit wider and got over that to pull into another very tight turn to the right. Ross could feel his heart starting to race at the realisation they were halfway through and they hadn’t knocked a fence down yet, but he held himself in check. It was crucial to maintain his focus and not get ahead of himself. Underneath him, Bathsheba’s powerful muscles were flexing and bunching smoothly as she cantered around and then picked up pace as he lined her up for the next pair of jumps, an upright and a spread. These passed them by without incident and now it was the combination, just in front of the small patch of red, white and blue. 

Ross knew that Jim was in the patch, watching him, and he held himself and Bathsheba steady as they approached. Bathsheba’s ears flicked and she took off perfectly for the first element. This time their timing was perfect and they took the next two with the correct number of strides and then it was only the final fence. Bathsheba shook her head once and then they were up and over and she landed cleanly.

Ross broke out into a delighted smile, slapping her neck joyously as they came around and he looked back to check the time and saw it was 79.06 seconds and a thrill went through him as he realised he was well set to go through to the individuals. 

He cantered Bathsheba around and looked over at the happy faces that were now standing up and bouncing in spite of the annoyed looks they were getting from the other people in the stand, although in truth all he wanted to see was the smile attached to the flash of blond hair and green mirrored sunglasses. Satisfied, Ross rode Bathsheba towards the exit, letting her drop into a walk as they came to the exit. He saw Joshua, Enys and Prudie coming out the stand and they looked every bit as ecstatic as he felt. He rode over and Prudie took Bathsheba’s reins, pressing more kisses to her muzzle.

‘Bloody well done!’ Enys said, holding up one hand. Ross took the offered high five and laughed.

‘She went like a dream.’ he said. ‘It’s all down to her.’

‘That’s because she’s a clever girl.’ Prudie cooed to Bathsheba who had realised she’d done well and was now nudging Prudie’s pockets in a meaningful way. They walked through to the standing area and Ross slid off. Joshua was waiting and pulled him into a rough hug.

‘Good boy.’ he said, letting Ross go and cupping his face. ‘I am so proud of you.’

Ross looked back at him, all smiles. His father’s praise was what he ran on and getting it was one of the best feelings in the world.

‘Thank you.’ he replied. ‘I couldn’t do it without all of you.’

‘Too right.’ Prudie said. ‘If you win, I want a bloody raise.’

‘And you’ll bloody get it.’ Joshua laughed.

*********

‘All right.’ Grace was working something out on the back of her programme. ‘That means he’s well into the individuals and is in fact currently sixth overall. Let’s hope the others bugger up a little.’

‘I can’t believe how amazing that was.’ Jim said. He was astonished, not having expected it to be as exciting as it had been. His heart was racing and he was sure he had not a single nail that had survived. Next to him, Demelza and Verity grinned at each other.

‘Just wait.’ Verity said. ‘The really exciting bit’s coming up.’

*********

By the time they were down to the last few riders it was clear that Great Britain was well out of it. Will had also had a clear round, but both Pippa and Kitty knocked up four faults apiece and it simply wasn’t enough to get them close to the top. It was the Australians that took the team honours and they got a wonderful reception as they rode out to collect their medals, followed by the Germans and Swedes who were in second and third place respectively.

With the medal ceremony completed it was time for lunch and Francis and Elizabeth volunteered to go in search of food. They came back with sandwiches for everyone and the cooler box yielded fruit and more cocktails. 

‘It’s been a lovely day.’ Rose was now under a hat to rival Grace’s floral mainstay. 

‘It’s wreaking havoc with my freckles.’ Demelza complained, smearing factor fifty over her pale face. 

The sand had been relevelled and the big screen was now showing the revised route for the jumping final. This had only nine fences and the time allowed had been slashed to fifty-eight seconds. This would mean some seriously fast riding as Francis had explained with a great many expletives. 

The tension was rising amongst them, and Jim was bouncing in his seat as nerves overtook him. Verity wasn’t much better and Demelza rolled her eyes at them.

‘Will you both calm down?’ she said. ‘You’re driving me crazy.’

‘Here.’ Rose said and handed Jim her glass. ‘For fuck’s sake have a drink and relax.’

‘I can’t.’ he protested but he took the glass and downed half of it. ‘How do you lot manage to watch this all the time?’

‘Self-medicating.’ Francis laughed, taking his refill and saluting his aunt.’

**********

Down in the standing area Ross was with Bathsheba, going over every inch of tack and checking every buckle to make sure it was to his standards. Prudie was at Bathsheba’s head watching him.

‘It’s not like I’m going to deliberately let you fall off.’ she sniped and he shot her a grin.

‘I know, Prudie.’ he said, more calmly than he actually felt. ‘I just like to be sure.’ She snorted at him and he moved around to the other side of Bathsheba, hand on her hindquarters so as not to spook her. He was at that stage now where he’d gone past elated and nervous to being strangely calm. 

‘All set?’ Joshua was behind him, arms folded as he oversaw what Ross was doing.

‘Yes.’ Ross checked the other side. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The jumping had shifted the order again and he was fourth, shifting up a couple of places when two of the other riders had had a bit of a bad round and knocked up a cricket score. The highest ranking jumpers would be riding last so that meant he was fourth from the end, which would be good because it meant he would know what he had to do. The key for this round was not only to go clear but also to go fast. 

Enys came jogging around, his smile bright and Ross’ hopes went soaring. 

‘Eight faults.’ he said, jubilant.

‘Fuck.’ Ross couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘So he’s out of it?’

‘Completely.’ Enys said coming up to them and petting Bathsheba. ‘You need to go clear and keep in the time and you’ll have it.’ 

‘Shit.’ Ross had the wonderful, terrifying notion that he could win a medal in the next twenty minutes. He bounced on his feet a bit and looked at Joshua, who was trying to hide his own nerves but not doing a very good job. ‘No pressure then.’

‘Just go in there and jump your heart out.’ Joshua said. ‘We know you can do it.’

‘Right.’ Ross slammed his helmet on his head, hands shaking as he did it up. ‘I can do this.’ He moved to Bathsheba and then found Joshua beside him.

‘For luck.’ he said. ‘Leg up.’ Ross grinned at him. He bent his knee and Joshua bent and boosted him into the saddle like he’d always done when Ross was too little to mount by himself. He looked down and Joshua held his hand up and Ross took it. ‘Go get it, Ross.’

‘Thanks, Dad.’ He said and their eyes met. ‘For everything.’

‘You are welcome.’ Joshua said and stepped back. 

Ross looked at Enys and Prudie, now standing to the side with their hands up and rode past them, his hand connecting with theirs before they all fell in behind him. Bathsheba knew they were now at the end and she was bouncing underneath him, her ears up and her tail flicking in excitement. She loved jump offs and Ross let her trot out to the collecting ring. He was set now, all his concentration coalescing into a singular focus. 

Only nine fences stood between him and gold. 

He got to the collecting ring, blocking out the cheers of the crowd. He let Bathsheba walk around this time, waiting his turn. It didn’t take long and Joshua beckoned to him. Ross rode her out and past them, his heart rate speeding up as he got to the gate. He looked down at his wrist briefly, the glimpse of colour settling him down and then up to the right. Jim was at the corner, smiling at him and as Ross got close he leaned over as far as he could, arm outstretched. Ross returned the smile and moved Bathsheba over just enough for their fingertips to brush and then back into line as he rode into the arena. He looked back once to see Jim heading back over to the others, all of them on their feet again, and then he turned back to the course and shut it all out. 

He stopped briefly to salute the judges, not even seeing them at this point, and then it was into a canter. The first jump was the same striped upright and it was effortless. The next was one they hadn’t jumped in the previous round, another striped upright, and this was on a straight line from the first. Bathsheba took the four strides needed and floated over it, then turned on a penny as Ross pulled her around to the right. They jumped the white gate on the reverse line and this time she gave him no trouble at all and Ross resisted the urge to whoop. The next turn was to the left and another new jump, a two bar spread. Bathsheba took it well and his mind was starting to race as he tracked the course in front of him. Only five more to go.

The nest was a candy striped spread and Ross felt like at that moment nothing could touch them. Bathsheba wasn’t even blowing that hard, trying her hardest to make every jump look like she was filled with helium and simply floating over them. Then the music note upright, a quick four strides and they were over that and a turn to the left and another spread, the water one this time. Ross had tunnel vision now, everything around him reduced to a blur and only the combination in front of him in his line of sight. He stared it down between Bathsheba’s ears, and took her through it. It was also in reverse but this didn’t faze Bathsheba at all and she popped over all three elements neatly. 

The last fence was the widest, brightly coloured poles that beckoned like a lure. Ross steadied his hands and Bathsheba responded with a little burst of speed and leaped into the air. She was well clear, all four hooves a good ten inches from the top of the poles and her ears went back the second she hit the ground. There was a second of pin drop silence before the cheer went up and Ross felt like his hole head was about to explode with the sudden realisation of what he’d just done.

‘Yes!’ he shouted and this time he did punch the air. Bathsheba decided to join in his celebration, kicking up her heels a few times. Ross slapped her neck, letting her work it out for a few minutes and then pulling her back in as he rode past the screaming patch of red and raised his hand to them.

***********

In the stand, Jim was quickly going deaf between two sets of screaming women. To be honest though, he was making just as much noise.

‘Oh God.’ Grace was on her feet, her and Rose holding onto each other like drowning people with life preservers. ‘I can’t watch anymore.’

‘Three to go!’ Francis bellowed at her over the noise. ‘Bloody three to go.’

***********

Ross came out the ring to three ecstatic people and was rushed the moment he dismounted. Prudie was well beyond the realms of being able to speak, tears pouring down her face. She grabbed Bathsheba’s reins and led her off to wait for the results. Ross found himself in the middle of a bear hug from both sides, and then it was added to as the other members of the team piled in as well. 

‘Fucking hell!’ Joshua roared. ‘That was bloody magnificent!’

‘Only three to go!’ Enys was clearly beside himself, all his normal calm demeanour well out the window. 

Ross just shook his head, unable to speak. His heart was in his mouth and he turned back to stare at the where the next rider was going in.

***********

They were now all huddled together, hands clasped as the German rider came in. 

‘Please, please, please.’ Verity was intoning, her eyes closed. ‘Just a medal. We don’t even care what colour it is.’

‘Fuck that.’ Demelza was squeezing Jim’s hand so hard that he thought she had cut off his circulation. ‘We want a fucking gold!’

************

Ross was pacing, not able to do anything but try and stop himself from screaming from the tension. Enys had run off to go watch and left him and Joshua to wait. 

************

‘OH MY GOD!’ Demelza’s scream was lost in the cheers around her. ‘He’s got a fucking bronze!’

************

Joshua and Ross looked at each other, unable to even breathe.

‘I think I’m going to pass out.’ Ross said. Joshua came over and braced him up, arm around him.

************

‘It’s not nice to pray for someone to fall off!’ Elizabeth admonished Francis.

‘Bugger that!’ he retorted and went back to frantically shredding his Union flag into tiny pieces. They all held their breath as the next rider went round and there was a collective squeak when she kicked out the last fence.

***********

‘Jesus fucking Christ on a Shetland pony!’ Enys was shaking with emotion. He and Will were watching from the corner, barely able to lean out and see what was happening they were so wound up. ‘He’s got a fucking silver.’

***********

‘One more.’ Jim found himself repeating the words like a mantra under his breath. ‘Just one more, baby.’ Next to him, Demelza and Verity both now had a death grip on his arms. They watched as the Australian in the lead came in, her face set and determined. 

***********

‘Here we go, lad.’ Joshua’s face was pale with anticipation. Ross found himself reaching for his father’s hand like he was a small child and Joshua took it, squeezing hard.

**********

It happened four fences in. 

For Jim it felt like time stood still, the pole teetering on the edge before toppling majestically to the ground. He had to bite his lip as he realised what that meant and then Demelza started screaming in his ear.

***********

‘What the fuck does it mean though?’ Ross was so tense he was practically vibrating. 

‘I don’t know.’ Joshua replied, but then they looked towards the collecting ring and saw that Enys and Will were coming back at them at a run and that was when it hit. 

‘Gold!’ Enys was shouting. Enys never shouted. ‘Fucking gold!’

‘No.’ Joshua looked shell-shocked. ‘Really?’ 

‘Really!’ Enys said and then tackled them both. 

**********

The stand was in absolute mayhem and Jim realised that everyone except him was crying.

As for himself, he felt like his face was going to bust right open from smiling so hard. 

**********

‘Come on, Ross!’ Joshua had to shout to make himself heard. ‘Get your arse on that horse and get the fuck out there.’ 

Ross was laughing and couldn’t stop. He finally managed to extricate himself from the other riders and grooms and got to Bathsheba who had been showered with pats and kisses and was accepting them like the queen she knew she was. He got hold of her bridle, resting his face against hers. 

‘You beautiful crazy woman.’ he said to her. ‘Fucking thank you.’ Bathsheba snorted and nudged him as if to remind him that Polos were due. 

‘Mr Poldark? It was a steward. ‘Please?’ Ross nodded at her and moved to Bathsheba’s side, foot in the stirrup and then pulling himself into the saddle. There were flashes going off all around him and he quickly had to rein Bathsheba in from taking a bite out a photographer, giving her a kick in the ribs and trotting her through to the arena. 

He had no idea how much time had passed but it was enough to set up the podiums in the middle, officials and judges standing there to give the presentation. There was someone speaking over the loud system but Ross couldn’t hear a thing. He felt like his entire brain had shut down. The other two riders came up alongside him and he leaned over, congratulating Evie first and then Mikael. They were as emotional as he was. 

‘Fucking crazy round.’ Evie said to him, her face aglow. ‘We all knew you’d be the one to beat after that.’

‘Really?’ Ross couldn’t take it in. 

‘Ja.’ Mikael was smiling at him. ‘You are lucky your horse is mad. Riesling would never let me ride him like that.’ He patted his own bay mount. 

They rode in at a signal from the stewards and Ross looked at the small group of people in the stands, all waving their flag capes and screaming as he headed to the podium. There was a steward there to take Bathsheba’s reins and he slid off. She gestured to the line drawn in the sand and he moved to it, taking off his helmet and running a hand through his sweaty curls. The steward took it from him and he waited for the others to come up beside him. 

They announced Mikael first and he got up into the third place position and bowed his head to accept the bronze medal, his face wreathed in smiles. Evie was next, her tears thankfully making no dent in her mascara, and she was so little that the silver medal looked outsize on her chest. 

Then it was his turn and Ross felt like his heart was going to fly right out of his chest as he stepped up onto the podium. The flashes blinded him momentarily and then the judge was there and he found he had to bend over quite far for her to put the ribbon around his neck.

The medal was heavy, far heavier than he’d expected and it threw him off balance a little as he straightened up. The feel of it in his hands made everything suddenly crash home and he looked over at the stand where his father, Enys and Prudie were watching him all huddled together and then he smiled and kept smiling as God Save The Queen started playing. 

The anthem finally died out and Ross stepped off the podium with the others. Bathsheba now had her winner’s sash on and a rosette on her bridle and he patted her nose before vaulting into the saddle, floating on air with happiness flooding every bit of him. They started to take their lap of honour, cantering around the outside of the course. Everyone in the stands was on their feet applauding, but Ross knew there was only one person he wanted to see. 

Bathsheba was delighted with the attention, playing up to the crowd as she affected a stately canter around the ring, kicking out a little just to make things exciting. The other two were in front of him and Ross looked past them to his objective. They were heading for the exit but he had other plans and when they turned he kept going and Bathsheba gave a little flick of her heels as she popped over the small boundary fence.

Ross rode her right up to the stand, completely ignoring the stewards’ desperate urging to go the way he should have. He pulled her in alongside the fence, her height meaning he was at the same level as the people in it. He stared into the group in front of him, hazel eyes meeting blue-green as he held out a hand. 

Jim stared back at him, and everything went quiet again as he stood up and moved to where Ross was waiting for him. Ross leaned over, completely oblivious to everything around them and Jim came up to meet him. 

‘Gold?’ he said. ‘Is this you trying to impress me, Poldark?’

Ross smiled and put his hand to the back of Jim’s neck. 

‘I think I love you.’ he said and kissed him. Jim melted against him, and Ross kept kissing him even as he got hold of Jim’s wrist with his other hand and pulled him closer, even as he caught him around the waist and physically hauled him out of the stand and onto Bathsheba in front of him, even as Jim put both arms around his neck and pulled back to look at him, his eyes sparkling. 

‘I think I love you too.’ he replied, his dimples deep shadows on his cheeks. 

Ross stared at him, then kissed him again before nudging Bathsheba into a canter and riding them out of the arena. 

************

‘Did I just see that?’ Grace was wide eyed. 

‘I think I’m going to seriously cry.’ Rose was dabbing at her eyes. 

‘Never mind that, love.’ They both looked down at the photographer and cameramen below them. ‘There’s probably not a dry eye in a single British household right now.’

‘Christ, they’re right.’ Demelza started cackling. ‘This is going to be all over the papers tomorrow.’

‘I wonder how many puns they’re going to come up with involving gold and Jim’s hair.’ Verity giggled.


	12. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The synchro finals and a change of residence.

It turned out there were lots.

The hangover from the previous day was nothing compared to the one Jim had when he opened his eyes on Tuesday morning and found Emma at the foot of his bed waving a handful of newspapers at him.

‘Golden Boy my arse.’ she snorted and tossed them onto his bed. 

Jim struggled into a sitting position. As much as he and Ross had wanted to celebrate Ross’ victory in grand style, he had had to share him with everyone else and then they had ended up so drunk (off one bottle of champagne no less) that neither of them had been in any shape to get it up. All that had happened was a particularly drunken snog at Ross’ door before he’d been dragged in by Francis to go sleep it off and Jim had been herded upstairs and handed over to Silver. 

‘What have they been saying?’ he asked, his voice rough. 

‘See for yourself.’ Emma said. ‘By the way I’ve had three requests for you and Silver to do an interview about the synchros.’

‘Sounds about right.’ Silver muttered from the depths of his duvet. He missed Emma’s evil grin.

‘I also have had seven requests for an interview about what happened yesterday and have been pestered all morning as to whether that kiss means you and Ross are an official item.’ she said, grinning at Jim. 

Jim struggled into a sitting position and picked up the newspaper that was on top of the pile. The picture on the back was of him being unceremoniously carted off by Ross on Bathsheba. The photographer had managed to capture their admittedly besotted expressions.

‘ROSS POLDARK TAKES GOLD AND ALSO WINS THREE DAY EVENTING ‘ the headline screamed and he snickered in spite of his headache.

‘At least they got my good side.’ he said. He scanned the article. ‘Wow, okay that’s a little flowery.’ He laughed. ‘And where the fuck did the ‘secretly engaged’ rumours come from?’

‘Sweetheart, when you get publically snogged and carried away on a horse a la Barbara Cartland of course people are going to assume you two are secretly engaged.’ Emma replied. ‘The Sun claims to have proof of a quickie wedding in Canada seven months ago.’

‘Well that’s just stupid.’ Jim was now laughing even harder. ‘There’s actual pictures of me in London in January.’

‘Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.’ Silver’s head was now just visible over the duvet.

‘This is too much.’ Jim reached for his phone and called Ross. He waited and there was no answer so he got up, bundling up the papers and walking off, trying not to trip over his pyjama pants and the duvet which he’d wrapped around himself. 

‘Where are you going?’ Emma asked, clearly too amused by the turn of events to even protest his behaviour.

‘To show my fiancé.’ Jim called back. He left the unit and caught the lift up. The door to the riders’ unit was open and he trailed in. Will was on the sofa, impeccably dressed, and he saluted Jim with a glass of orange juice. 

‘You look like shit.’ he said.

‘And you look far better than a man who drank as much as you did should.’ Jim replied with a smile. ‘Is he in?’

‘He’s in.’ Will replied. ‘It’s not like he was able to actually go anywhere last night.’ He laughed. ‘I haven’t seen Ross that drunk for months.’

‘There was a good reason for it.’ Jim replied and went to Ross’ door. He didn’t bother knocking, going straight in.

Ross was nothing but a lump under his own duvet and Jim went over to the bed and edged his way onto the mattress, dropping the newspapers on the floor. He shoved Ross over until he had enough room and lay down. Ross woke just enough to turn over towards him and pull Jim under his own duvet with him until they were a tangled bundle of arms, legs and bedclothes. He looked particularly grumpy when Jim finally managed to push the duvets out of the way enough to find him. 

‘Hello gorgeous.’ he said and Ross grumbled and sank further inside the sea of green and Olympic logos. 

‘My head hurts.’ He looked like he wanted to hit someone.

‘I think it’s safe to say that you and I are both lightweights.’ Jim said. He managed to lean down enough to grab a newspaper. ‘Also, we’re secretly engaged according to the Mirror.’

‘Nice.’ Ross said. ‘Who asked who, that’s what I want to know.’ 

‘The Sun thinks we’re already married.’ Jim said, holding the paper in front of Ross’ face and supressing a laugh at how he squinted at it. ‘That will make our mothers happy.’ 

‘I would marry you.’ Ross said and that made Jim’s ears prick up. ‘But maybe a month is a little quick.’

‘Are you even serious at this time of the morning?’ he asked, not quite sure what to make of Ross’ comment.

‘Not sure.’ Ross snuggled back down. ‘Come here and kiss me and I’ll tell you.’ Jim grinned at him and chucked the newspaper on the floor and disappeared under the duvet with him. The sound of messy kisses was punctuated with laughter. 

On his side Francis turned onto his back and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

‘For fuck’s sake.’ he muttered. ‘I need my own fucking room.’ The giggling stopped and two heads surfaced. They looked considerably more dishevelled than they had moments before.

‘Actually that’s not a bad plan.’ Jim said thoughtfully. ‘John’s flying out this afternoon so I am technically short a room-mate.’ 

‘You’re are technically just short.’ Ross replied, delighted with his own joke as he got Jim’s backside in both hands and squeezed hard enough to make him squirm.

‘Fuck off.’ Jim replied, fighting to keep the smile off his face. ‘I’m trying to be serious.’

‘It’s a terrible look on you. Stop it.’ Ross now had his face in Jim’s neck and Jim had to bite his lip to stop the moan that threatened as Ross licked the side of his neck in just the right place. It really didn’t help that he could feel how hard Ross was getting, his erection pressed into Jim’s hip. 

‘It’s the perfect solution.’ he replied. ‘We can even push the beds together.’ Ross raised his head and looked at him. 

‘Are you asking me to move in with you?’ he asked, one dark eyebrow raised. ‘That’s even more sudden than the secret engagement.’

‘Just until the Closing ceremony.’ Jim replied. His hands were actually itching to just grab hold of the magnificent cock that was tantalisingly in reach and get Ross off right there and then, Francis be damned. 

‘Fuck this.’ Francis snorted. He got up, taking his own duvet with him. ‘I’m getting the fuck out of here before you two randy fuckers start anything.’ He stomped off, slamming the bedroom door behind him. 

‘Thank fuck for that.’ Ross said, his eyes darkening. ‘Take your pants off.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ Jim laughed as Ross tipped him over onto his back, hands sliding under the waistband of his pyjama pants. ‘Francis is right, you are a randy fucking bastard.’ He had no need to keep anything in now and moaned as loudly as he wanted to as Ross took hold of him. 

‘Off.’ Ross was insistent and he shoved the offending item of clothing down until Jim could kick them out of the combined duvets. He was now naked from the waist down and about to strip his t-shirt off when he was flipped back over onto his stomach and a hand ran up between his legs. Ross’ fingers dragged against his skin and it made Jim drop his head and succumb happily to the caress. 

‘Is this you making up for last night?’ he asked and Ross hummed assent as he shoved Jim’s t-shirt up enough to start kissing down his bare spine. 

‘Just wait till you see what I have planned.’ he said and Jim shivered as Ross dragged his tongue over his skin, already horribly sensitive. 

‘And what might that be?’ he asked even as Ross shuffled down the bed and then gasped as he felt the first lap of Ross’ tongue. ‘Fucking hell…’ Ross hummed again, the vibrations making Jim’s skin tingle. He grabbed the sheet in both hands and gripped tightly as Ross started to lick in earnest, long soft strokes of his tongue alternating with light flicks and slow circles. Jim buried his face in the pillow and made very loud sounds of approval. 

‘You’re so fucking noisy.’ Ross laughed as he surfaced. 

‘It’s your fault.’ Jim panted. ‘Where the fuck did you learn how to do that?’

‘I had a much older boyfriend when I was eighteen.’ Ross said. ‘He taught me pretty much everything I know.’ He went back to what he was doing and Jim carried on moaning.  
‘Remind me to say thank you if I ever meet him.’ he managed to grit out and Ross snorted and then shoved his tongue in as far as it would go and Jim nearly levitated off the bed. He was pushing back into Ross’ mouth, now so hard it was almost torture. Ross threw one arm across his back and redoubled his efforts. Jim could feel the rasp of his stubble and the deft movements of his tongue as Ross worked him open. Eventually Jim couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed the lube that was on the bedside table, obviously put there in anticipation of a wild night which never actually materialised due to their mutual inebriation. He chucked it behind him in Ross’ general direction, snickering when Ross made an outraged noise as it hit him in the head.

‘You know I can’t fuck you if you decapitate me.’ he grumbled but there was the sound of the cap being popped and then two wet fingers sliding inside and Jim arched back into them, biting down on his own lip as Ross twisted them perfectly and stroked lightly over his prostate. 

‘I might not want you to fuck me at all.’ he replied, breathless with pleasure. ‘Just keep doing that.’

‘You’re not getting off that easily.’ Ross said, but he sounded smug. ‘I’m planning on fucking your arse until you scream.’ He bent his head and bit Jim lightly on the backside. 

‘I don’t think the rest of your flatmates are going to be happy about that.’ he panted and then fell forward as Ross nailed him hard, his fingers pressing in relentlessly. ‘Motherfucker…’ 

‘You’ve got a seriously filthy mouth, you know that?’ Ross said. ‘Maybe I need to shut you up?’ He got hold of Jim’s hip and moved him onto his side, his free hand going to Jim’s cock. ‘Make you come like this and then fuck your mouth instead.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ Jim was almost insensible, every inch of his body feeling like it was on fire. ‘Will you just shut up and fuck me somewhere.’ He was torn between pushing back onto Ross’ fingers and thrusting up into his grip, just the right amount of tight. Ross let him go and moved so he could grab a condom, handing it to Jim. 

‘Get on with it then.’ he said and his hazel eyes were dancing. ‘You want it, you’ve got to work for it.’ Jim glared at him over his shoulder and then wriggled. Ross pulled his fingers out long enough for Jim to turn around the sort the condom out, then shoved him back over again, pinned him down and hauled one leg up to hook over his hip so they were back to chest. He thrust in slowly, drawing it out and making Jim keen as the head of his cock grazed his prostate. The angle was good, every drive in hitting perfectly and Jim let his head fall back as Ross’ hand creeping under his t-shirt, thumbing over his nipple, his hand coming up to hold at the back of Ross’ neck. 

‘Fuck…’ he breathed and Ross smiled at him. He slowed his thrusts, the deep drive in maddening. He shoved Jim’s t-shirt up enough to suck on the nipple closest to him and reached down to take Jim’s cock in his hand, working it in steady strokes that matched the way his hips were moving. 

‘I’m going to make you crazy.’ he murmured, lifting his head and interspersing his words with flicks of his tongue over Jim’s nipple. ‘I want to make you come harder than anyone’s ever made you come.’ Jim looked at him, their eyes locking as he felt the tightness in his groin building. Ross stared back at him, the hand behind Jim coming up to cup the back of his neck. 

They moved together, finding a perfect rhythm that had them both riding the edge. They had long abandoned any restraint they had, both of them moaning and panting hard as their peak physical fitness meant they could keep going for what seemed like an unfeasibly long time. Thirty minutes and an unnecessarily large reapplication of lube later they were at a stalemate.

‘You know you’re going to have to come before me.’ Jim bit his lip and gave Ross his sultriest look. 

‘Fuck that.’ Ross snapped his hips hard and Jim cried out at the direct jolt to his prostate. ‘You’re breaking first, Hawkins.’

‘I don’t fucking think so.’ Jim retorted, but he was almost dizzy with arousal and the sensation of Ross’ cock driving in and out relentlessly. It felt too good to hold onto and he decided that enough was enough. ‘Get off me.’

‘Huh?’ Ross was caught unawares and Jim managed to wriggle off his cock and then onto his knees, wrestling Ross onto his back and mounting him. He scratched his nails down Ross’ chest as he impaled himself on his cock and then set a fast and furious pace, bouncing up and down hard and making Ross go cross-eyed. 

‘Better?’ he couldn’t resist asking and Ross grabbed his hips and yanked him down onto his cock with every drop.

‘I think it’s safe to say you’ve mastered rising to the trot.’ he replied. The bed was starting to creak alarmingly underneath them and Jim grabbed for Ross’ hands and pinned them down alongside his head then proceeded to ride the fuck out of him. The whole bed was now shaking as he bucked frantically and Ross had to grab him and hold on, his hands on either side of Jim’s neck as he panted open mouthed, watching him avidly before dragging him down to kiss him. 

Jim smiled against his mouth, feeling his orgasm build as the change in angle meant greater stimulation. It was almost too much now, too good and too intense and then it hit, white hot and flaring through him and making the muscles in Ross’ forearms stand out as he held Jim still and let him ride it out, painting Ross’ chest white and grabbing onto his arms. The cry that escaped him was loud and drawn out as he rode through the aftershocks, almost as strong as his climax, and he barely felt Ross come, only vaguely aware that he was thrusting back up inside him as deeply as he could and then falling back down to the bed. 

Jim collapsed on top of him, and grimaced at the sweat and semen that was now making a sticky mess of both their stomachs and his t-shirt. He looked down at Ross accusingly but Ross was being buoyed on a wave of post-orgasmic bliss and so all he got was a dreamy smile.

‘I only came in here to tell you we’re engaged.’ he muttered and Ross wrapped his arms around him and kissed his nose.

‘I think that you should know that if we get married I am going to insist on fucking you at least three times a day.’ he replied. 

‘I love how you’re talking like it’s a forgone conclusion.’ Jim said. ‘I haven’t said yes.’

‘Yet.’ Ross sounded not just smug but completely and utterly pleased with himself. Jim huffed and decided that required payback.

They squashed themselves into the shower and Ross lent Jim a clean t-shirt that swamped him to go back down after he had accidentally used Jim’s one to clean his cock off, just adding to the mess on it. The riders gave them a round of applause as they came out and Ross went red and hustled a cackling Jim out the unit. Downstairs, Silver was up and dressed. 

‘Where the hell have you been?’ he asked. ‘Emma’s gone with Flint and Gunn. I’m going to get breakfast and come back to pack up.’

‘Good idea.’ Ross said. ‘I’m fucking starving after that.’

‘I don’t want to know.’ Silver replied. 

*********

They separated after a huge breakfast and Jim went with Silver to go say goodbye before going on to watch the 3m divers train before the semis and finals. Ross was going to come along with Rose and lend support at 4 when the semis were due to start. Jim would normally be sitting down with the other athletes but he had given up his place to go sit with them with Silver gone and not needing him to keep him company.

Ross headed over to the equestrian centre and found a very lazy looking Bathsheba snoozing in her loose box. She finally deigned to wander over and crunched the sugar cubes he had for her and Ross stroked her face and kissed her soft muzzle. 

‘You were so wonderful yesterday.’ he said to her and she rested her head against his chest and let him scratch her. ‘You are the most brilliant horse that ever lived.’ 

‘I disagree.’ Ross turned and saw Demelza standing there in her training gear and grinning at him. ‘You look like you’ve been fucked sideways.’

‘You’re not far off.’ he said as she came over and hugged him. ‘It was kind of sideways. How are you feeling?’

‘I’m good and stop changing the subject.’ she said. ‘You know you’re completely in love with him, right?’ Ross sighed, but it was happy. 

‘Yeah.’ he replied. ‘I think you might be right. I’m moving in with him for the rest of the competition.’

‘Good.’ Demelza said. ‘It’s good. I haven’t ever seen you this happy.’ 

‘Well, I have just won a gold medal.’ Ross said and then his face split in an incredulous smile. ‘Fuck, I still can’t believe it.’

‘Fuck the medal.’ Demelza replied. ‘I think what you’ve found here is far more valuable.’ She smiled up at him. ‘And I think you know that.’

‘You won’t be saying that when you win tomorrow.’ Ross said and she shrugged. 

‘We’ll see.’ she replied and trotted off to go continue training. Ross watched her go, envying her casual easy way of approaching the upcoming event. Demelza was always as cool as a cucumber going in.

Ross gave Bathsheba final pat and went to go find Joshua. He was at one of the training arenas watching Francis put Casablanca through his paces. The rangy chestnut gelding was a placid creature, much like Francis was, and he was happily popping over the training jumps.

‘There’s my winner.’ Joshua was all smiles as he hugged Ross. ‘I’m amazed you are even up.’ 

‘I managed to drag myself out of bed.’ Ross replied. 

‘Ha!’ Francis said as he cantered past them. Ross and Joshua watched him go by and then continued their conversation. 

‘Dwight’s going to have Bath all ready to go tomorrow morning.’ Joshua said. ‘You know you are welcome to come and stay with us for the rest of the competition.’

‘I’ve actually had a better offer.’ Ross couldn’t hide his smile as he leaned on the arena fence. 

‘I thought you might.’ Joshua replied. ‘When’s his next event?’

‘Friday.’ Ross replied. ‘Flint and Gunn have their finals tonight and Jim’s back on training tomorrow. Semis and finals are on Saturday.’

‘Well, Dem’s round is at 10:30 tomorrow morning.’ Joshua said. ‘And then final is the same time on Monday. Then it’s team jumping on Tuesday and then the individuals on Friday after that.’ His dark eyes twinkled. I’m presuming Jim’s staying for the closing ceremony.’ 

‘As far as I know.’ Ross replied and Joshua smiled. 

‘In that case let me amend my earlier offer and say that you are both invited to come stay from the Monday.’ he said. 

‘That actually sounds very nice.’ Ross said. ‘I’ll ask him.’

‘It might help your case to mention that Rose is pretty much moving in from today.’ Joshua chuckled. ‘Your mother introduced her to Carolina and the three of them are like Macbeth’s witches. Rafa and I could barely hear ourselves over all the cackling last night after we got back from the shindig.’

‘Good God.’ Ross shook his head, then looked at his father. ‘Was it like this for you and Mom?’

‘Worse.’ Joshua grinned. ‘So much worse. Don’t forget it was the Eighties. ‘I did hear about your little declaration and those pictures in the Guardian this morning spoke volumes.’

‘We’re engaged according to the Mirror.’ Ross said. That made Joshua smile. 

‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ he said. ‘You know, your mother and I eloped after only three months. Your grandmother refused to forgive me until you were born. Then she conceded that it had been a good idea.’

‘So you think it’s a good idea?’ Ross laughed. ‘I’ll remind you of that later.’

‘He seems to make you happy.’ Joshua replied. ‘That’s all that’s important to me.’

‘It’s probably because he has a big cock. Or a tight arse. Or both.’ Francis remarked on a second ride past. 

‘Fuck off, Francis!’ Ross yelled at him and Joshua started laughing.

***********

He got back to the village at three and went to get his things. The move had been enthusiastically approved by Francis and Ross packed his things up and carted them downstairs. Silver had given him his key and he let himself in and went to the bedroom he would now share with Jim. 

At the door, Ross stood and looked in. Jim’s bed was now neatly made and the other one had been stripped and dressed in clean linen. He dropped his bag next to his wardrobe unit and packed his boot bags and helmet bag away then went and shoved the furniture around until the beds were together, making a decent approximation of a double bed. That made him smile like an idiot. He sat on the edge and reached out, letting the St Christopher on Jim’s lamp slide through his fingers. The whole room smelt like Jim’s aftershave and he got up and started to unpack his things.

When he was done, Ross showered and changed into a clean t-shirt and jeans. He was tugging his converse on when his phone vibrated. He saw the message was from Jim and replied to let him know he was on his way. He got up and then his eyes fell on the glasses case in his bag, still lying open on the bed. 

He hated his glasses, but Verity was right. He really couldn’t see perfectly without them and if this was going to be a serious thing, Jim would have to see the real him eventually. He opened the glasses case and put them on, then picked up his hoodie, wallet and phone and headed out.

The aquatic centre was busy, and Ross went in to look for Rose and Jim. He found them and went up to where they were sitting and tried not to smile at the look of delighted astonishment on Jim’s face when he saw that Ross was wearing glasses. 

‘Holy fuck, Poldark.’ he said when Ross came to sit next to him. ‘Are you trying to kill me?’

‘No.’ Ross said, looking away to hide his pleased expression. ‘Why?’

‘Because I have a massive hard-on for hot guys in glasses.’ Jim replied. 

‘Bloody hell.’ Ross was torn between being horribly scandalised and stupidly happy. ‘Say it a little louder.’

‘I’ll do one better.’ Jim replied and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt and snogged him. They parted and Ross suddenly noticed the pool. 

‘What the fuck is wrong with it?’ he asked and Jim pulled a face.

‘It’s green.’ he said. 

‘I can see that.’ Ross replied. ‘Is it safe?’

‘Who fucking knows.’ Jim replied.

Three hours later and the semis had gone well. They were now waiting for the finals to begin. The party atmosphere inside the aquatic centre had spread throughout the stand and the music that played between events was only making it feel more like a carnival than a sporting event. Flint and Gunn had dived very well, sitting seventh overall. Jim sat glued up against Ross, hand on his thigh and explaining everything in detail. 

‘The board isn’t like ours.’ he said. ‘It’s sprung so their momentum comes from that which is necessary because it’s so much closer to the water. That way they can still do the kinds of dives we do.’

‘Like what?’ Ross asked. 

‘Fours.’ Jim said and Ross frowned. ‘Four twists or turns. Those would be impossible to do from this height with a fixed board. Threes are also pretty damn challenging.’ 

‘But you do fours too?’ Ross said. 

‘Yeah.’ Jim replied, completely casual but grinning when he saw the impressed look on Ross’ face. ‘You should see me do that.’

‘Should I now?’ Ross returned the smile. ‘Is it amazing?’

‘Completely amazing.’ Jim’s dimples were flashing happily. ‘You’re going to never want to see me off a board again.’

‘I seriously doubt that.’ Ross said, nuzzling at Jim’s neck. ‘I quite like you in my bed.’

‘Our bed.’ Jim replied and kissed him. There was a flash from below and they broke apart. ‘Oh great. The Great British press has arrived.’ 

‘So what?’ Ross was so giddy with happiness he couldn’t have cared less. ‘I say we give them something to talk about.’ He reached for Jim, hands at the side of his neck and kissed him very intimately. The flashes started going off in earnest and Jim was laughing when Ross let him go, his eyes sparkling. 

‘I think I like this side of you very much, Ross Poldark.’ he said and Ross smiled at him. 

‘It tends to come out around you.’ he replied. 

‘Hush, you two.’ Rose waved a hand at them. ‘They’re starting.’

The divers marched out and Jim ran through who everyone was. Flint and Gunn waved at them and smiled broadly when they were introduced to the crowd. There were wild cheers from the bottom of the stand where the combined clans had come to support them. 

‘I wish we could be down there.’ Rose grumbled. 

‘Then we wouldn’t hear anything.’ Jim replied. ‘You know who loud that bunch are.’ He turned back to Ross and they watched as the first competitors came out. ‘This is going to go really quickly.’ He pointed at where the divers were coming out onto the boards. ‘They adjust the tension in the springs using the wheel. The approach is the same as us so forward, back, inward. They don’t do armstands though.’ That made Ross turn and look at him.

‘Armstands?’ he asked and Jim nodded. ‘Like a handstand?’

‘At the edge of the board.’ Jim said. He saw how Ross was looking at him and his smile widened. ‘You want me to show you later?’

‘Yes.’ Ross said and then dropped his voice. ‘Christ, that gives me ideas.’ Jim raised his eyebrows at him. 

‘Oh really?’ he said. ‘Like what exactly?’

‘Upside down blowjobs, darling.’ Rose said, her eyes glued to the divers. ‘Do keep up.’ She snickered as Ross went red. ‘Oh please, Ross. Tell me that wasn’t the very first place your mind went to.’

‘I don’t like your mother.’ Ross hissed at Jim. ‘She reads minds.’ 

‘No.’ Rose replied and gave Ross a look over her glasses. ‘You forget that I was your age once.’

‘Oh God, Rose.’ Jim said. ‘I do not need to hear this.’

They watched the first round of dives. Flint and Gunn did a forward double somersault and sliced through the water as they went in, the splash minimal. Jim made a pleased sound when the scores came up as nines and nine point fives with two tens threaded in for good measure. 

‘That’s a bloody good start.’ he said, starting to bounce in his seat. ‘Now they’ve just go to hold it all the way through.’

It got better, and the four British divers started to go head to head. Ross had to admit it was a little odd at first, but he started picking up the finer points under Jim’s tutelage. The fifth round was particularly exciting and Flint and Gunn were only seven points behind Laugher and Mears. 

‘Shit.’ Jim had his nails in his mouth and Ross grinned as Rose absently reached over and took them out. ‘This is going right down to the wire.’

They held their breath as Flint and Gunn came out for their final dive. They executed it almost perfectly to Ross’ eyes, a triple backward somersault that made even Jim gasp. 

‘That’s got to be it.’ he said. 

‘Hang on.’ Rose said. ‘Jack and Chris still have to dive.’ They sat on the edge of the seats for the second British team to come out. They were due to do a four and a half forward somersault and Jim had explained to Ross how technically difficult that was with a tariff of 4.1.

‘They have to get the rotations perfect.’ he said. ‘One tiny miscalculation and they won’t synch.’ 

Laugher and Mears came to the end of the board and stood poised and waiting. Ross could see that Flint and Gunn had joined Emma and the other coaches and they were all standing watching with bated breath. Then the two divers jumped and the whole centre was silent until they hit the water, then a tremendous cheer went up. 

‘Oh my God.’ Jim was on his feet with Rose and they were both screaming. Down below, Flint and Gunn seemed torn, but when Laugher and Mears came over they fell on them and bounced them around like a bunch of half-naked puppies and then the screaming started in earnest when the scores came up. It was silver and gold for Great Britain with the U.S. in third place and the divers down below got in the middle of a bear hug from their coaches and more bouncing ensued. 

Ross looked up at the two people next to him, laughing with them and thinking that he might actually really like to be attached to them. They were so unlike the Poldarks, just the two of them together since Jim’s dad had died. 

‘Get up, Ross.’ Rose said and he did. 

***********

After the medal ceremony and watching the four British divers smile so blindingly they could have lit the stadium by themselves, they headed off. There was no doubt going to be another massive party to celebrate and Flint and Gunn had come to the edge and yelled up that they were both expected. Ross walked out with Jim and Rose to send her off in a taxi to Rafael and Carolina’s house.

‘This is turning into one big happy family isn’t it?’ she said gleefully, kissing them both on the cheek. ‘Nighty-night boys. Don’t stay up too late.’

They waved her off and then caught the shuttle, wandering through the security tent and gardens hand in hand until they got to their building. 

‘So here we are.’ Jim said, grinning at Ross as they rode up in the lift. ‘All moved in.’ Ross smiled back at him and then had a brainwave as they got to Jim’s floor. He moved quickly, getting hold of Jim and picking him up, one arm under his knees and the other supporting his back. Jim laughed and held on for dear life as he was picked up and carried out the lift and past the other unit, which already had the rest of the team crowded inside and the music blaring in celebration. ‘What the fuck are you doing? We’re supposed to be going in there.’ He gestured at the door and Ross kissed him once. 

‘Secretly married.’ he replied. ‘According to the Sun. And tradition requires this.’

‘In Vegas no less.’ Jim replied. There was a moment of precarious leaning so he could unlock the door. ‘By the way, do you have your medal with you?’

‘Yup.’ Ross replied as he carried Jim into the unit and through to the bedroom. ‘Why?’

‘No reason.’ Jim replied, but his dimples were out in full force. ‘Just an idea.’

‘Pervert.’ Ross said, setting him down on the now double bed. ‘So what do you think of my interior design?’ 

‘It looks good.’ Jim said. He reached up kissed him, arms around Ross’ neck. ‘And seeing you’ve dragged me in here, I say we christen it properly.’

‘I like that idea.’ Ross reached for his glasses, about to take them off, but Jim put his hand to Ross’ wrist. ‘What?’

‘Leave them on.’ Jim replied and kissed him again.


	13. Prelims

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, your eyes do not decieve you. Time to wrap this puppy up XD

‘Fuck.’ Ross was sitting with his back against the wall, duvet bundled around his hips as he watched what Jim was doing, eyes drawn to the way Jim’s t-shirt had fallen down and was exposing his stomach. ‘That is very impressive.’ Jim lowered his legs back down to the floor, one at a time until he could stand back up straight. Ross sighed happily and drank him in. He leaned over and picked up his watch. 

‘What time are you heading off?’ he asked and Jim walked to the edge of the bed and crawled onto it, moving so he was in Ross’ lap. Ross smiled up at him and settled his hands on Jim’s arse. He was not ashamed to admit that he was probably completely obsessed with it by this point. He squeezed and Jim huffed a laugh and nosed at him.

‘I have to be at the pool at eight.’ he said. ‘We’ve got a couple of hours scheduled, then I’ll have lunch and chill out for bit. I don’t want to wear myself out.’

‘Not before tonight.’ Ross reached up and stroked Jim’s hair out of his eyes. It was soft like this, without the usual waterproof product, and Jim looked remarkably young. ‘Are you nervous?’

‘A little.’ Jim replied. He moved both arms around Ross’ neck and Ross got him around the waist. ‘But being with you the last couple of days has kind of mitigated anything I was feeling.’ It had been interesting two days to say the least. Demelza had flown through her Dressage Grand Prix Special and was now in a very strong place for the Freestyle. She was having a day off and her and Verity had plans to go shopping for souvenirs and were dragging Ross with them. He had wanted to go and watch Jim training but Emma had put her foot down about that, claiming that he would only be a distraction. ‘What time are you coming?’

‘I want to get there around seven.’ Ross said. ‘The whole gang is coming so organising them is going to be a challenge.’ He gave Jim a quick kiss on the nose. ‘And you’ll be pleased to hear that we all have matching t-shirts.’ He grinned. ‘Wait till the papers see that one.’ It was a bit of a running joke that he and Jim had become the new obsession of the British press, with more headlines screaming about their whirlwind romance, especially after someone (and they had no idea who) had taken pictures of them on their mobile phone and sold them to the Sun. They were thankfully very tame, the two of them at breakfast together and one of them kissing in the gardens outside the British block but it had been enough to make Ross annoyed and so in his belligerence he’d decided to go out all guns blazing. He was particularly proud of his t-shirt which had I (heart) JH emblazoned on the back along with the Team Hawkins on the front. He couldn’t wait to see the reaction to that one, not least from Jim who had no idea he would be wearing it. He had been tempted to throw caution to the wind and have ‘will you marry me’ on it but Demelza and Verity had both assured him that Jim would probably appreciate a proposal in private as opposed to a method to bait the gutter press.

Jim sighed and got up, stretching and padding over to the wardrobe. He pulled out his clothes for the day, and then went to go shower. Ross listened to the water going and picked up his phone, texting Demelza to see if she was up. She replied and he messaged back to say that he would be down in an hour. Then he got up, stripping off his clothes as he went into the bathroom. Jim was in the shower, head resting against the tile while the water cascaded against his back and down between his shoulder blades. Ross went and pulled the shower curtain aside and got in behind him and Jim moved to make some room for him, although the stall was so cramped it had the effect of them having to basically glue themselves to together. There was some rearranging and twisting so Ross could grab the shampoo, working it into Jim’s hair while he stood in front of him, leaning down to kiss his shoulder every now and then. Jim leaned back into him, almost purring at the attention. 

‘I could get used to this.’ he said. 

‘You could always come down to Cornwall with me.’ Ross said and he laughed. 

‘Or you could move to London with me.’ he replied.

‘I hate London.’ Ross said, rinsing the suds from Jim’s hair. ‘But for you I’d consider it.’

‘Plenty of time to decide later.’ Jim replied and then he looked at Ross over his shoulder, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes. ‘This is a thing, right. You and me?’

‘I thought we’d established that when I rode you off into the sunset.’ Ross replied. ‘Yes, it’s a thing. I very much hope it will continue to be a thing for a long time, if not forever.’

‘You mean that?’ Jim was now turning around and there was second of fitting together before he was looking up at Ross, blue-green eyes wide and sparkling with happiness. ‘I know we’ve been joking about all this…’

‘I do mean it.’ Ross replied. ‘I wasn’t joking about the maybe being in love with you.’

‘Neither was I.’ Jim said, his hand coming up to Ross’ face. ‘And it’s only two more days and then we can have some idea what we’re going to do. This has all been a bit surreal.’

‘I know.’ Ross replied, leaning down to kiss him, water in his face. ‘But the best kind of surreal.’ Jim laughed and looked up at him. Their eyes met and there was split second where Jim asked the question and Ross answered it by not saying a word, just manhandling him back around so his face was in the water and his hands were braced against the wall. It was fast and hard, one of Ross’ hands laid across Jim’s throat and the other on his hip to hold him in place. They both moaned into the stream of water, banging into the sides of the stall until they finished almost simultaneously. 

‘Right, I need to get ready for a shopping marathon.’ Ross eased out and then gave Jim a slap on the rear, prompting a backhand in retaliation. ‘And you need to go win a medal.’

‘You need to let me clean myself off first.’ Jim snickered. ‘Otherwise there will have to be a lot of explaining. So take your stupidly long legs and get out of my shower.’

‘Our shower.’ Ross corrected but he left before the swipe at him could hit its mark.

**********

The day was sunny and warm as they walked down one of the roads that ran parallel to the main drag of Ipanema beach. Ross had succumbed to shorts and flip flops and was wondering along happily, buying the most tasteless things he could find for Jim. So far the count included a flock covered version of the Christ statue in neon blue, a stuffed toucan, a pair of bright yellow Havianas and a snow globe with the Rio vista and tiny cut out parrots in it. 

Demelza and Verity were walking arm in arm ahead of him. Francis and Elizabeth had also joined them and they were a little way behind, holding hands and giggling together. Ross smiled as their voices drifted to catch up with him. He’d always found the way they were besotted with each other a little annoying if he was being honest, but now the shoe was on the other foot he found himself picturing him and Jim being the same way and it was wonderful.

He was feeling a trifle bit smug because he had come across a stall in the craft fair that was a cut above the normal souvenirs. The owner was a silversmith and he’d had a display of leather thong bracelets with a silver fitting that was shaped like the five rings and Ross had bought Jim one in tan and one for himself in black. He thought it was a fitting good luck charm and he planned on giving it to him later. 

‘Ross.’ Elizabeth called and he stopped and turned. Her and Francis were coming up to him, grinning all over their faces. ‘We have an idea.’

‘Yeah?’ he asked and then narrowed his eyes at them. They were positively beaming. ‘What’s gotten into you two?’

‘So we’ve kind of noticed this whole thing going on.’ Francis said. He moved to one side of Ross and Elizabeth took the other. 

‘Not that that makes you an observational genius, darling.’ Elizabeth said, smiling indulgently at him. ‘But yes. And we think that we have the perfect solution.’

‘The solution to what?’ Ross asked and they exchanged delighted looks. 

‘To your future living arrangements, you idiot.’ Francis said. ‘We’re giving you and Jim the flat.’

‘Huh?’ Ross frowned. 

‘My flat.’ Elizabeth said. ‘You’ll need a place to stay of you’re going up to London regularly. I want you and Jim to use it.’

‘Thank you, Beth.’ Ross said, giving her a hug. ‘That’s very sweet of you.’ 

‘Well, we’re not going to be needing it.’ Elizabeth said and now she was smiling in a way that told Ross something else was definitely up. ‘And babies need space.’

It took a second for the penny to drop and then Ross gaped at Francis, who looked completely and utterly pleased with himself. 

‘I’m sorry?’ Demelza’s voice came from ahead of them. ‘Did you just say babies?’

‘I did.’ Elizabeth replied, her dark eyes glowing with happiness. ‘The next generation of Poldarks is on its way.’ 

‘Holy shit.’ Verity screeched and the next second she was galloping down the street and flinging herself at her brother and sister-in-law-to-be, and they set up a happy screechy bouncing trio. ‘I’m going to be an aunt!!!’

‘Yup.’ Francis said. ‘And I do believe pony shopping is going to be in oerder when we get back.’ 

‘Oh I am so excited!’ Verity couldn’t stop bouncing. ‘Dad’s going to be beside himself when he finds out.’

‘Well now.’ Demelza had gotten to Ross and linked her arm through his. ‘Isn’t this just too sweet?’ She was grinning. ‘All we need now is for you and Jim to get married and things will be perfect.’

‘What about you two?’ Ross returned her smile. 

‘I am very happy as I am, thank you.’ she replied. ‘And Vee’s got her handsome rower.’

‘That I do.’ Verity came to take his other arm. ‘So get your arse in gear, dear cousin.’ They steered him back down the road between them, giggling and Ross let them take him where they wanted. He knew better than to fight against them.

**********

Jim arrived at the pool with Emma, butterflies dancing in his stomach in spite of his efforts to keep himself calm. 

This was the second time he’d be competing in the Individuals, the first having been a steep learning curve. He’d reached the semis, then crashed out when his lack of experience had gotten the better of him. 

‘Hey?’ Jim turned and saw Emma looking at him. ‘You all right?’

‘I’m fine.’ he replied. ‘Just jitters, that’s all.’ Emma nodded and smiled at him. She understood the way he was before a competition, even more so when he was diving alone and didn’t have Silver to lean on. 

‘Come on.’ she said. ‘You need to go warm up and get some practice in.’ Jim nodded and headed for the far side of the pool, walking around and behind the boards to get to the changing room. There were already some of the other divers there and he stopped to chat. He knew everyone competing here, having spent the last ten years of his life competing with a great many of them. Then he went inside and walked down to the locker room. It was a standard affair and a little cramped and he decided that he’d be better off out in the long corridor. When he came back out, he found that Tom had had the same idea and Jim went and dumped his kit bag down next to his.

‘Hi.’ he said and Tom looked up at him and grinned. 

‘Hiya.’ he replied. ‘I thought you’d probably be here already.’ He stood up. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘The usual.’ Jim replied. ‘You?’

‘Good actually.’ Tom replied. ‘I feel like this might be my year.’ 

‘Well, you’d deserve it.’ Jim said. Tom was completely devoted to his diving and he practised with a determination that Jim admired enormously, especially when one considered the pressure he had from the press. It was far more than he’d ever experienced and the little taste he and Ross had had the previous few days made him appreciate the fact that most of the time he wasn’t the target of publicity apart from when he chose to be. ‘You’ll probably have your crowd here tonight. Are your mom and Lance coming?’

‘Yeah.’ Tom replied. ‘But I don’t know about my crowd.’ There was a twinkle in his dark eyes. ‘You seem to have picked up quite a following.’ It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other divers that Jim now had a romantic entanglement and there were a lot of pointed comments, some congratulatory and some not so. ‘I am assuming Ross will be here tonight?’

‘The whole damn family is coming.’ Jim laughed. ‘Like I don’t have enough pressure going up against everyone else already.’

‘You’ll be fine.’ Tom said. ‘You know how good you are under pressure.’ 

‘I hope so.’ Jim said. 

**********

By the time the group arrived at the pool, the whole place was buzzing. Music blared from the speakers and the crowd was in a festive mood. 

Ross followed Rose and his parents into the stands with Demelza, and the others behind him. The section was awash in red and blue and tiny Union Jacks which were being waved and much larger ones draped over shoulders and flapped like bedsheets. They had booked out an entire row and as they made their way in, he saw Rose exchange friendly greetings with a woman sitting in front of them and the man next to her. He recognised them from last time as Tom’s mother and his boyfriend and waved hello when they turned around and did the same. There was much laughing and mutual introductions to his parents and the rest of the equestrian team and Ross could see people taking surreptitious photos of them in their matching blue Team Hawkins t-shirts. 

‘You’re outnumbering us.’ Tom’s mother said and Rose laughed. 

‘Well we’ll share our good luck if you share yours.’ she replied. 

Ross settled into his seat and took his glasses case out of his messenger bag and putting them on. He wanted to give Jim his good luck token and had it in his pocket but he needed to see what the hell he was doing. He got up and walked to the edge of the stand and looked down. The athlete’s section was full of supporters and he spotted Flint and Gunn and whistled. They looked around and saw him, and Ross made frantic hand signals until they got the gist of what he wanted. Flint made his way back and Ross sent the bracelet sailing through the air and Flint caught it neatly. When he saw what it was, his face spilt in a smile and Ross watched as he set off towards the other side. He got to the coaches and Ross could see him talking to Emma. Then he started coming back and when he got close enough he threw Ross a thumbs up and Ross smiled and returned the gesture, then made his way back to his seat. Demelza looked up at him. 

‘This is so exciting.’ she said, grinning broadly. ‘There’s so much atmosphere. I wish our crowds were allowed to be this full on.’

‘I think diving’s a little more theatrical.’ Francis said. ‘And it would probably scare the horses.’

‘Your delicate flower maybe.’ Demelza laughed. ‘Mine probably wouldn’t even hear them. I swear Merlin’s as deaf as a post sometimes.’ 

‘So what happens here?’ Elizabeth asked, leaning past Francis to look at Ross.

‘Well tonight’s the prelims.’ he said. ‘So it’s six dives each and the top eighteen scorers out of thirty-two go through to tomorrow night. Then it’s semis which is pretty much the same except it’s the top twelve that go through and the scores affect the order of competition, so the person with the highest score goes last in the lineup. It’s not like us where we have a fixed order.’

‘Interesting.’ Demelza was watching the flurry of activity across the other side of the pool. ‘I think they’re almost ready to start.’ 

Sure enough, there was an announcement a few minutes later. The person speaking ran through the line-up for the evening and cautioned everyone that flash photography was not allowed and that phones had to be on silent. The walk out was going to be in about ten minutes and Ross felt his stomach starting to knot in sympathetic anticipation.   
There were more announcement and Rose gave him a beaming smile down the line, almost vibrating with excitement. Ross smiled back and went back to watching everything on the other side of the pool. Soon enough he saw the divers starting to emerge from the changing room, all in their national tracksuits, and he held his breath as the announcer came back on and confirmed that the competition was about to begin. 

‘Oooh.’ Demelza took his hand and squeezed it. ‘This is going to be good.’

‘I hope so.’ Ross replied. He knew how much Jim wanted this and he could only hope everything came through this evening and set him up for the rest of the competition. 

Silence fell over the centre as the divers started to file out to riotous cheers from the spectators. Ross spotted Jim and Tom in their red, white and blue coming out fifth in the line and then turned his eyes to the screens above them that showed their position in the line-up. He was pleased to see that Jim was fairly far down the bottom sitting at eighteenth. Tom was even lower and Ross knew they would be pleased with that. Jim had explained how divers liked to be as low as possible so they could suss out the competition and also know what score they had to beat. The Chinese, who Jim had said were the ones to beat, where also low down and he gnawed on a nail as he contemplated that. 

‘God, stop it.’ Grace said. He was on his other side and reached out just like she had his entire life and pulled his hand out of his mouth. ‘You’re not a child.’

‘I can’t help it.’ Ross shoved both hands between his knees, which were now starting to jiggle up and down. 

The divers were now lined up at the end of the pool and waiting to be announced. The voice came back on and started running through the names and the divers raised their hands as they were announced. Predictably the whole section they were in went mental when their divers were called and Ross could see the moment Jim spotted him because his dimples came out and his sunny smile plastered it across his face. Then he pulled back his sleeve slightly and Ross saw the band of tan that meant he was wearing his good luck charm. That brought his own smile out and he waved at him. The announcer got to the end of the list and the divers filed off, heading back to the changing room. They would strip out of their tracksuits and then get ready for their first dive. 

The first group of divers were now coming back out and heading for the steps that lead up to the platform. They stopped at the hot tub underneath the boards to do a quick warm up and then started ascending in an orderly fashion to take their place and do their opening dives. This would go pretty quickly, and Ross sat back and watched as the Swedish diver came out to take his place. 

‘You’re going to have to explain all this.’ Francis said to him, leaning back to look at Ross behind Demelza’s head. ‘I don’t have a clue.’

‘There’s six types of dives.’ Ross replied. He was very proud of how much he’d picked up in the short time he and Jim had been together. ‘Jim has to do one from each category. Like Dem has to with the dressage. He can choose which combinations to use, but the more complex they are the higher the tariff, which means he gets a better score.’

‘What are the categories?’ Elizabeth asked.

‘Forward, reverse, armstand, inward, twist and back.’ Ross replied. They all watched as the Swedish diver completed his first dive, a forward two and a half somersault with tuck. It went well and the score came up as a very respectable eighty-eight with no penalties. 

‘Are their penalties like ours?’ Elizabeth asked. 

‘Kind of.’ Ross said. ‘They’re for all sorts of things like timing and take offs and degrees of angle and shit like that. It’s pretty complicated.’

‘In that case, forget I asked.’ Elizabeth laughed. 

It was only three divers in that the giggles started. Demelza was first and Ross looked at her as she shuffled into her hand. 

‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’ he asked and she snickered and gestured at the screen that showed the close-ups of the divers and their scores. 

‘Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?’ she said and the collapsed in helpless giggles. 

‘What?’ Francis asked and then Elizabeth started.

‘I see it.’ she said and Demelza looked at her and they both started laughing again. 

‘Well, I bloody don’t.’ Francis said, folding his arms and looking grumpy.

‘Okay, look now.’ Demelza said. One of the Taiwanese divers had just had his turn and the screen showed him getting out the pool and waiting for his scores. Ross and Francis peered at it and then both sets of eyebrows went up as they saw what the cause of so much mirth was.

‘Holy fuck.’ Francis said. ‘Christ, it’s like porn.’

‘Only better because it’s international TV.’ Demelza snickered. 

Ross stared at the screen. Now that he had seen it, he couldn’t unsee it. Every time a diver received their score, the graphic at the bottom blocked out part of the diver’s lower body. The unfortunate thing was that it was usually the bit that contained the speedo. That meant the top of the diver’s body and their legs were shown, but not the part that basically gave any of it some credibility. With the graphic in place they looked like they were essentially naked. 

‘Now I know why this is so popular.’ Elizabeth was shaking with laughter. It was enough to make Grace and Joshua give them quizzical looks. Ross shot the girls a look to tell them to leave it alone, but that had never been a particularly successful ploy and they took great delight in pointing it out. 

‘Oh my.’ Grace suddenly seemed a lot more interested in the proceedings. She rooted around in her handbag and took out her own glasses case and out hers on. ‘Those boys are certainly very well defined.’

‘They definitely are.’ Demelza said, elbowing Ross in the side. ‘Trust you to pick up a boy that has the best bodies in sport.’

They sat and watched the first twelve divers and then Jim finally appeared and Ross’s stomach twisted as the butterflies inside it took off. He looked so small across the pool, but on the screen Ross could see him in all his semi-naked glory. 

He disappeared behind the part of the board that hid the hot tub and Ross knew he’s be dunking his shammy in the pool and drenching himself in the warm water to keep his muscles loose. The weather was fairly warm, but divers cooled down quickly and he knew from his own sport how important it was to keep warm which was why Bathsheba got her sweat rug thrown over her the second she got untacked. He finally came into sight again, climbing the first section of the stairs and Ross leaned his elbows on his knees and watched him.

***********

Jim glanced up towards the very obviously British part of the stand and smiled to himself as he climbed just behind one of the Australians. He looked down at his wrist. Emma had bought him the leather bracelet with its beautifully rendered Olympic rings while he was warming up and Jim had taken it and immediately put it on, not needing to ask who had given it to him. He’d taped it up securely with the waterproof adhesive tape they all used for strains or to cover jewelry that they didn’t want to take off. 

The next diver took their turn and Jim moved up to the next level, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline as he started to breathe deeply and still his mind in preparation for the dive. By the time he got to penultimate platform, he was jumping lightly in place, warming himself up and getting rid of some of the nervous energy that he always seemed to accumulate in his walk up to the platform. 

The Australian took his dive and now it was his turn. Jim took a deep breath and climbed up and walked past the steward, using his shammy to dry his hands off one more time and then going to the side to chuck it over into the pool below. He didn’t look across at the crowd again, knowing it would throw him off. The entire crowd and all the noise faded out as he concentrated, everything distilling down to this one moment. 

He shook out one foot after the other as he quieted himself and then walked forward to the right side. He was doing his worst dive first, the inward three and a half somersault in the tuck position and the only one he had in his repertoire. He stopped briefly to adjust his speedo and dust off his hands and then took his place at the end of the platform. He moved into position, getting a good stance and balancing on his toes as he lifted his arms out to the side and above his head then rose up and threw his weight into the move as he bounced off the board, the momentum enough to jump up and backwards and orient himself forwards. The inward dive always looked so impressive because of the very narrow clearance between the diver’s head and the board but Jim could feel it was good. He used his rotation to tuck himself in tightly, holding onto his knees and making sure that his toes were pointed the whole way down before he straightened out and bought his hands around, locking them just before he hit the water. It was a clean entry and he went under, holding his breath and then kicking out to bring himself back to the surface. 

Jim broke through and heard the cheers that told him that he’d done a decent job. He swan the few strokes to retrieve his shammy and then the side, moving up the slope to exit the pool and stop off at the hot tub to jump in for a few moments and then get back out again. He went round the back to the showers, turning one on and standing under the warm water. He could hear the announcer speaking and came out from under the water, ignoring the cameras tracking his every move as he dried himself off and shook out his hair, finger combing it back as he looked at his score. It was an eighty-four and Jim breathed out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t his best score ever, but it was a solid start and made him feel a little more at ease. He walked over to where Emma was waiting for him, her sunglasses pushed up on her head and her face neutral. He knew that wasn’t a reflection of how she felt, but Emma liked to play things close to the chest. 

‘Good start.’ she said evenly. ‘Tighten up on your landing though. Your feet weren’t completely straight.’

Jim nodded and she patted him on the shoulder as he passed and sent him on his way. He walked through into the corridor that ran down the length of the change rooms and found his top where he’d left it on his designated plastic lawn chair. He pulled it on and picked up his MP3 player and headphones, sticking the buds in his ears and turning it on. The sound of Handel’s Water Music filled his ears. Jim sat down and closed his eyes, knowing that one of the stewards would come in good time to call him for his next dive. He relaxed completely, steadying his breathing and thinking about his next dive.

*************

‘Damn.’ Francis sounded impressed. ‘That was pretty hardcore stuff.’ 

‘It gets better.’ Ross was delighted. He knew how much Jim hated that particular dive and he’d pulled it off very well. He was now up in tenth. From here on in, it would be the dives that Jim was far better at. 

‘So that’s a good score then?’ Elizabeth asked and Ross nodded. 

‘It’s not bad.’ he said. 

‘No, it isn’t.’ Ross added from down the line. ‘He’ll be happy with that.’ 

The next set of dives progressed, with Tom’s dive scoring high and getting a big round of applause from their section. There was a short break before the next round of dives because of a technical problem with the scoreboard and it became an opportune moment for some conversation.

‘He’s doing so well.’ Rose said to his mother and she smiled. 

‘He’s been training non-stop.’ she replied. ‘And he’s happy right now. He’s been more himself this year than I’ve ever seen him. It’s like he’s grown into himself.’

‘I’m sure the love of a good man helps.’ Rose said, winking at Lance. ‘I hope it has the same effect on my one.’

‘Oh?’ Tom’s mother turned around and then spotted Ross. ‘Well, I would suggest getting engaged. Tom’s been utterly delirious since Lance asked him.’

‘See?’ Grace as now giving Ross a stern look. ‘What did I say?’

‘It’s been five weeks.’ Ross protested. ‘I’m not going to propose after five bloody weeks, Mother.’ 

‘Although we have offered him and Jim the flat.’ Elizabeth called down the line and Grace clapped her hands together. 

‘What a brilliant idea.’ she said. ‘You clever girl.’ Ross glared at Elizabeth and she gave him a brilliant smile. Determined not to be outdone he arched an eyebrow at her and turned back to Grace.

‘Ask her why.’ he said and now Grace leaned forward to look at Elizabeth. 

‘Why?’ she asked. Sadly any hope Ross had of this putting Elizabeth on the spot was blown out the water by her face lighting up.

‘Because I’m preggers.’ she cackled. Grace’s squeal was loud enough to shock most people around them into silence. Joshua let out a gentlemanly wheeze as she grabbed him and squeezed him so tightly Ross could almost hear his ribs creak.

‘Oh this is wonderful news.’ she declared. ‘Charles is going to be speechless when he finds out.’

‘Well, no giving the game away.’ Francis laughed. ‘I want the pleasure of telling the old sod myself.’ 

‘I can’t wait.’ Grace said. ‘Our first official Poldark grandchild.’ She looked up past them and grinned. ‘Verity! Your sister-in-law-to-be has just told us the good news.’ They all turned and looked at Verity, who was making her way to the two open seats at the end of their row. A young man was behind her. He was dark haired with a pleasant face and friendly smile and Ross grinned at the interest that all eyes turned on him. It was quite nice to not be the one in the spotlight for a change and he watched as Verity introduced him. 

‘So, this is Andrew Blamey.’ she said with a wide smile. ‘Gold medal winning rower, I’ll have you know.’ 

There were further introductions and they sat down. Verity took off her jumper to reveal her own Team Hawkins t-shirt. 

‘So Jim’s the diver?’ Andrew asked and she nodded. 

‘He’s the one Ross is shagging.’ she said and Ross glared at her. 

‘Thanks for that Vee.’ he said and she grinned at him. 

‘Oh please.’ she said. ‘The entire bloody block knows you two are shagging.’ Ross was about to retort when the announcement came that the next set of dives was about to begin. They watched as the whole procession started again, but Ross did manage to catch Verity’s eye and made a ‘you’re dead’ gesture at her. She cackled and gave him the two finger salute. 

*********

‘Jim?’ 

Jim opened his eyes at the touch on his shoulder. It was Tom and he pulled his ear buds out and looked up at him. 

‘The board’s back on.’ Tom said. He was smiling and Jim knew why. His first dive had been spectacular and catapulted him to the top of the leader board. He got up and took off his tracksuit top and set it aside along with his MP3 player and headphones, then started running through some stretches to warm up. His next dive was the armstand and Jim took the time to make sure his shoulders and wrists were loose. He came out the changing room and Emma beckoned him over. 

‘You got this one?’ she asked and Jim nodded. He’d been a little shaky in practice but he felt fine now, buoyed along by the confidence he felt after tackling his opening dive and also because he seemed to be holding his position. He had no need to push himself too hard, just hard enough to stay in the top eighteen and then he could pull out the big guns the following night. 

He came out into the centre and walked past the coaches. The divers had all been joking that they had to sit one on top of the other in their tiny space. Emma, he noticed, had claimed her space and was guarding it from the group of coaches next to her. She gave him a nod as he went by. 

Jim followed the same procedure as before – warm up and then a slow walk up the steps. Mattie, the Australian in front of him, was tapping his foot when Jim got to the first platform. 

‘This is taking so bloody long tonight.’ he grumbled, freckled face creased in a frown. ‘These bloody people couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.’ Jim grinned. He knew the Australian contingent weren’t the happiest, especially after they had arrived and found that their block was barely finished with showers that didn’t work and wiring that was exposed. 

‘It could be worse.’ he said. ‘The pool could still be green.’ Mattie pulled a face.

‘Too bloody right.’ he said and then grinned. ‘So which one’s the boyfriend?’ Jim laughed. 

‘How do you know he’s here?’ he asked and Mattie snorted. 

‘Cause your barmy Blue Army is out in force, so chances are that one of them belongs to you.’ he replied. 

‘He’s the fourth one along from the right.’ Jim replied. ‘The one with the dark curly hair.’

‘I’ll take a look when I get to the top.’ Mattie laughed. ‘See if he’s worth stealing off you.’

‘Yeah, I’m sure Grant will love that.’ Jim laughed back. He knew Mattie and his boyfriend well and they often went out when the two of them were in London. They carried on climbing and Mattie went off to go do his dive. Jim watched him then moved to take his own place on the platform. 

He went through his little routine and walked to the end of the board, then bent over to place his hands at the edge, siting them securely before taking his weight on them and easing his legs up until they were vertical. This dive was not his most difficult but it was the trickiest to get right in terms of take-off and landing. He waited, steadying himself and the flicking his legs out to create the momentum that took him into the two and a half twists. Jim executed them perfectly, entering the water with barely a splash and was smiling when he popped up. He knew it was good and when he got out the pool and hit the shower he heard the score and broke out into a wide smile. The cameraman took this is a sign to stick the lens right in his face, but even that couldn’t take away from the fact that Jim had just broken his first ninety. Instead he gave the camera a little wave and went straight to Emma, where he got a crooked smile.

‘Good work, lad.’ she said. ‘Keep that up and you’ll be flying through.’

‘Don’t jinx me.’ Jim said, automatically standing on one foot. He had some odd superstitions but he stood by them. Emma chuckled. 

‘Go and sit down and listen to your dead people music.’ she said. ‘You’ll be fine.’ Jim huffed at her and walked back inside the corridor.

**********

‘You’re right.’ Verity was beside herself with laughter. ‘They do look like they’re naked.’ Ross glared at her and the others. It hadn’t helped that the last diver had been Jim and now they all had a very good idea of what Ross got to see at night. 

‘Bugger off, all of you.’ he muttered. They looked at each other and merrily ignored him as they fell about, giggling like mad people. Ross looked at his mother for support and saw that Grace was wearing a knowing smile. 

‘Well, I can certainly see what you see in him.’ she said and Ross snorted. 

‘Bloody family.’ he muttered. ‘You’re all a bunch of certifiable maniacs.’

‘Takes one to know one, dear.’ Grace replied and flicked him on the ear.


End file.
